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THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 JANUARY, 19^9 NO. 1 

'Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



GOD OUR BEFUGE 

Our God, our help in ages past, 

Our hope for years to come, 
Our shelter from the stormy blast 

Ana our eternal home: 

Under the shadow of thy throne 
Thy saints have dwelt secure; 

Sufficient is thine arm alone, 
And our defence is sure. 

Before the hills in order stood, 

Or esrth received her frame, 
From everlasting thou art God, 

To endless years the same. 

A thousand years in thy sight 

Are like an evening gone; 
Short as the watch that ends the night 

Before the rising sun. 

Time like an ever rolling stream, 

Bears all its spns away; 
They fly, forgotten, as a dream 

Dies at the opening day. 

Our God, our help in ages past, 

Our hope for years to come, 
Be thou our guide while life shall last, 

And our eternal home. 

— Isaac Watts, 1719. 



THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM is a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf In the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THE SIQNS OF HIS COMING 

n For as the days of Noe were, so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 2U:38. 

During Jesus 1 ministry on earth, he commonly spoka 
of himself as the Son of man. And so the prophesied 
"coming of the Son of man" in our text has reference 
to that great and notable event, which perhaps in the 
very near future, is to break upon the earth, when 
Christ our Lord, in Regal splendor and glory of God 
the Father and all the holy angels, will return again 
from heaven to earth. 

These words of Jesus, found near the close of Matt. 
2U (verse 38), appear as a concluding warning in con- 
nection with a number of other signs which Jesus fore- 
told in the proceeding verses, would preceed and 
accompany his "coming # » In this text we are told 
that his coming will be at a time when the attitude 
and conduct of the people of the earth will be as it 
was in the days of Noah, when God destroyed the earth 
with a flood. 

"For as the days of Noe were, before the flood tJiey 
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in 
marriage, until the day that. Noe entered into the ark, 
and knew not until the flood came and took them all 
away j so shall also t^he coning of the Son of man be." 

What little history we have of the days of Noah 
before the flood is contained in a few verses in the 
sixth chapter of Genesis, and that revealed by Jesus 
in this text, and several other statements by New 
Testament writers. But brief as the account is, it 
is most compr ehensive, and reveals that they were 
terrible days. Jesus, who was an eye witness of them, 
says, "They were eating and drinking, marrying and 
giving in marriage," indicating that it was a time of 
great prosperity and pleasure seeking, and careless 



THE PILGRIM 



living, because "they knew not, . # until the flood 
came and took them all away J? 

Gen, 6 indicates that the "marrying and giving in 
marriage" of which Jesus spoke were unholy and unlaw*- 
ful marriages; the "sens of God" took wives of the 
"daughters of men" of all which they chose— the same . 
as is done today, when the divorce rate is admitted 
to equal one third of the marriages, and is increasing 
rapidly. The inference in Gen. 6 is that the "giants" 
and mighty men of renoun" were the product of these 
unholy, mixed unions. They may have been renouned 
for their physical strength and prowess. Whatever 
they were, it is said of them that "every imagination 
of the. thoughts of their hearts was only evil contin- 
ually. And they must have been violent men because it 
is said, "the earth was filled with violence. . . and 
behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted 
his way upon the earth. The unparalelled wickedness 
of the days of Noah before the flood can only be under- 
stood in part by the fact that "it repented the Lord 
that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him 
at his heart." And by the drastic and total means 
which he employed to destroy it. 

Thus the days of Noah, before the flood, were days 
of opulence and pleasure seeking, as it is evidenced 
on every hand in our time. They were days of violence 
and unlawful marriages, of "sex" and liscentious living, 
as appears daily in" the news in pur time. They were 
days of impenitence and wilful ignorance of God's laws 
and holiness j days of impending judgment; but not with- 
out warning, because we are told that Noah w^s a. 
■"preacher of righteousness"— he may have preached to 
them an hundred and twenty years. They were days 
when the longsuf f ering of God waited while the ark 
was being prepared for the salvation of the human 
race. How defiant and impenitent they must have been, 
because Jesus says they continued their wickedness 
until the day that Noah entered the ark, "and knew 
not until the flood came and took them all away." 

It was matured wickedness., for these ungodly 
characters were already entrenched and prospering 



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in the time of Enoch who lived more than 800 years 
before* Enoch testified of the wickedness of his 
time and prophesied of the same coming of the Ix>rd of 
which Jesus warns, when he said, "Behold, the Lord 
cometh w ith ten thousands of his saints, to execute 
judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungod- 
ly among them of $11 their ungodly deeds which they 
have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches 
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 

The population of the earth in Enoch >s time and 
before the flpod'was probably predominantly the descend- 
ants of Cain, There is no record of any posterity of 
Abel. Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born, whom 
Eve said God had given to her instead of Abel whom- 
Cain slew. Seth was 10^ years old when Enos was born, 
which was 235 years after creation: Then began men to 
call upon the name of the Lord. This strongly infers 
that from the death of Abel to the birth of Enos the 
people of the earth were out of communication with God. 

Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and 
dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. There 
he begat a son and built a city and called it after 
the name of his son Enoch. Of his posterity came 
Lame eh who was a murderer like his fore -father Cain. 
He married two wives (introduced polygamy) of whom 
were born three sons, who pioneered in the three prin- 
ciple occupations of humanity, via ; agriculture or 
stock raising, industry, and entertainment. Gen.Ut 20-22. 
Cain was resentful and rebellious toward God, and when 
God pronounced sentence upon him he said It is greater 
than I can bear $ probably meaning that he considered 
it unjust* And in such a state of mind there is no 
reason to suppose that he would teach his children to 
know God or regard him as good. Thus we see the awful 
result which the original sin brought upon the child- 
ren of Adam through Cain who were the first to populate 
the earth. These probably would answer to the "seed 11 
of the serpent (Gen. 3:15) and may be the generation 
referred to in the phrase "the daughters of mn u (Gen. 
6:2), and the "sons of God" may have reference to the 
children of Seth who probably were greatly in the 
minority and were lured away from God by pretty women 



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of ungodly origin and influence. 

In our text, Jesus adds additional light to the 
Genesis account of the days before the flood. They 
were "eating and drinking 11 and "marrying" wives of 
all which they chose • probably it was the same kind r 
of feasting and reveling and drunkenness as in our 
time. Only a generation ago , those who divorced and 
married other wives were held in dishonor by society 
in general , and as transgressors of God's law by 
Christians. .But in less than fifty years these hav§ 
won the respect of society and the tolerance of a 
large majority of churches and churchmen. The actors 
and entertainers and social leaders of our time are 
literally taking "wives" of all whom they choose. 

Surely violence also fills the earth now as it did 
in the days before the flood. Murder and rape and 
killings and fightings and brutality of all kinds is 
front-page daily news and has become so common thatit 
is no longer shocking, except when it is a close 
relative or friend. Magazines, fiction books, radios, 
television and movies feed this wickedness, daily, 
into the tender minds of innocent little children and 
growing youth for entertainment. Law officers, judges 
and churchmen cry out against these crimes, but dare 
not, and perhaps cannot, now, remove its causes, be- 
cause the hearts of the people are unconverted, and 
they are not willing to seek after God and forsake 
the pleasures of sin. These are signs of the "end" 
and that the coming of the Lord is very near. 

"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the 
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and 
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even 
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with 
all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all 
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish ; 
because they received not the love of the truthy~that 
they might be ^avedT "" And for this cause God shalY"""^ 
siHcl them sTSrong delusion, that they should believe 
a lie: that they all might be damned who believed 
not the truth , but had pleasure in unrxghTeousness . " 
II TKess7T78-12. 

There is no injustice here and God cannot be blam- 



THE PILGRIM 



ed for forcing a decision in this, because there ia 
no middle gronind. The choice is freely and rightly 
left to the individual who must accept the consequen- 
ces for the choice made, and whose only safty lies in 
loving and receiving the truth. To not love the truth 
is to expose the heart to a lie. And to take pleasure 
in unrighteousness is evidence of a lack pf love for 
the truths and inviting that Wicked one to come im 

Who caruaot see that the days in -which we live are 
like the days that were before the flood? when the 
\ifagodly are vastly in the majority and prospering in 
in sin, having the predominating influence in social 
and governmental affairs about us. And the "sons o£ 
God" looking on with admiration, forget their holy 
calling and solemn warnings of Jesus and the apostles 
to not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, 
and with an evil heart of unbelief depart from the 
living God j but, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
will give thee a crown of life; hesitating at first, 
and then more readily cast off the restraining holds 
of th$ Spirit of God and join the' moving careless 
masses of lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God, 
to the very day "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire 
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey 
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall 
be planished with everlasting destruction from the 
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and 
to be admired in all them that believe • . . in that, 
day. II Thess. 1:7-10. 

Perhaps eve^y type of wickedness practiced now has 
been done in ages past since the flood, and many man 
in those ages have been as wicked as ,any that can be 
found now. But its extent and potential for engulf- 
ing the whole human race has not beeij since the days 
of Noah until now. 

"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be 
taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grind- 
ing at the millj the one shall be taken, and the other 
left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your 
Lord doth come. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord 
when he oometh shall find so doing. — D.F»W. 



THE PILGRIM 



THE BROADWAY 
By J. I. Cover 

"For wide is the gate, and broad i§ the way thet 
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in 
thereat. Matthew 7:13 . 

The wide gate, and the strait gate are but a turn of 
our steps apart. It is so easy to enter the wide gate, 
for the corrupted view of the carnal mind, and the en- 
ticing ways of sinning, or neglect to do the right, all 
this and to enjoy the pleasures of sin, -though for a 
season; quickens the step and pace along the downward, 
broad way that is definately set and established for 
all sinners. To continue on the broadway to the end of 
our earthly life, God has spoken the decree, It "lead- 
6th to destruction." The divine principles taken into 
our lives, quickened by the Holy Spirit leads to Life. 
The opposites, Turning from the Truth, unbelief, Enter- 
ing the service of sin, engaging in evil works, death, 
and eternal judgment, seals the doom to the destruction 
of all who continue upon the broadway, for the devil 
has traveled the broadway, and inspires all evil 
thoughts and deeds. There are three steps to life; 
desire, obedience and righteousness. Three steps to 
destruction; lust, sin, and death. Mat. 7:7, Itom. 6:16, 
James 1:15. Those who enjoy the pleasures of sin also 
partake of its horrors and remorse. On the broadway 
every evil thought, and action is encouraged, and the 
attempt is made to use also the good virtues and bless- 
ings of Gcd. The broadway leads through natural death, 
to the judgment day, and to the final end Destruction, 
The Second Death. Gods mercy and grace has made it 
possible to leave the broadway by repentance, turning 
back upon sin and there is before us the strait gate 
and Narrow Way. We need not continue to travel upon 
the broadway until it Is too late, for then death 
would rob us of the means, and opportunity to return 
'and live. The promises of God and the gift of Eternal 
Life allows the Spirits of just men to be made perfect 
by the freedom of choice, and by this same freedom, to 
enter and continue upon the broadway brings an end to 



8 THE PILGRIM 



the individual" as ~ a complete body, soul and Spirit, 
which we hope to prove by the word of God. 

Broadway of evil death and doom, 
Destruction^ way unto the tomb; 

The slippery, slimy way of sin, 

For devils legions, kind, and kin* , 

Behold the leader hastens on, 
And cheers each duped, and cheated pawnj 

With sinful pleasures, evil treats, 
Husks which the swinemen daily eats* 






• Mankind goes on with eager pace, 

Along this fearsome, downward race; 
And turns his back upon the .light, 
To follow darkness, death and night,. 

God's blessings coming from above, 
Reveals his mercy grace and lovej 

Calls man to leave this sinful way, 
For life, and bright eternal day. 

Repent before it is too l^tel 
Abhor this sinful, dooming, fate; 

The day of grace may soon be o'er, 
And God shall say "Time is no more." 

For life or death, and end of way, 
Will meet at the great judgment dayj , 

Eternal life, eternal light; 
Or Second death, eternal night. 

— Star Route Box 1160, Sonora, Calif. 
Neact: REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS. 

We who are Christians are too flabby in our inter- 
ests* We have time for everything for which those 
who are not dedicated to the cause of Jesus have time. 
, We have jnoney to spare for all the things that others 
surro]und, their lives with. And we are hoping to seek 
and serve the kingdom with spare money and spare time. 
It can't be done.— Selected 



.. THE PILGRIM ^ . 

WHAT IS THE FAITH? 

It is important to consider, in connection with the 
preservation of the faith, What is the faith? We have 
all seen a child jealously guarding a collection of 
strings and stones and old bottles, Or a pup bristling 
ove? "a well-cleaned bone. If the Christian faith is 
an assortment of superstitions, opinions, meaningless 
creeds, and empty mummery, then it isn't worth guard- 
ing. The sooner one throws overboard much that is > held 
as fkitti in our world today, the better* •:.«' . 

It is not a question of MY faith or YOUR faith. Vie 
ought to have tolerance and respect for one another. 
But tolerance and respect are not the same as faith. 
Faith is concerned with truth. The ^ only motive for 
evangelism is an assurance of truth. One rallies to 
an earnest defense only of what one believes with all 
his heart to be true. 
-- Christians hold the Christian faith. What is th&t? 

Christians are believers in Christ. What did the • 
first Christians believe when they said they believed 
in Christ, when they said they were His disciples? 
Let's' go back to the historic situation. We remember , 
how they were drawn to Him, one by one. As they walked 
\lith Him, watched His deeds, heard His words, sensed' 
His matchless personality, their faith in Him gradually 
grew. They came to accept Him for what He said He was- 
the Son of God, and the Messiah. Then their faith went 
into eclipse in the apparent defeat of His crudif ixion. 
But it came back with a mighty resurgence after they 
were witnesses of His resurrection. Then under the 
power of the Spirit came the mighty preaching which , 
created the wide-spread New Testament Church. 

What did they preach? Bible students summarize 
their message in the Greejc word KERYGKA, a word which 
we do well to get into our vocabulary, for there is no 
good English equivalent. This word is used in Rom. 
16:25— the "KERYGMA of ' Jesus Christ" j (Faith of Jesus 
Christ) also in II Tim. U: 17— "that the KERYGMA might 
be fully known" j also in Titus 1:3— n the KERYGMA with 
which I have been entrusted." What was the KERYGMA? 



10 THE PILGRIM 



It was the message, rather than the act, of preaching* 

The KERYGMA was a series of facts, of happenings, 
that involve Christ, In various passages in Acts we 
see what the chief content of apostolic preaching was: 
2:22-2i*j 3:13-15; U:10j S:30-32j 10:'36-U0; 13:28-30; 
also Rom. 1:2U; I Cor. l5:3j Ju The Gospels, especial- 
ly the first three, tell us what the early Christian 
message was. The KERYGMA was a story of tilings that 
happened. It was not a philosophical editorial of 
opinion, but front-page news* It told of facts, fully 
authenticated by many witnesses. These facts were 
told from person to person, passed from eye -witnesses. 
to others, handed down to people of other places and 
another generation. This story was the chief element 
in the Gospel which was preached and was accepted by 
multitudes. 

The KERYGMA was an oral message, not a written one. 
Some might think that the New Testament missionaries 
went about handing out Gospels. But there were none 
to hand out. The first books of the Mew Testament to 
be written were some of the epistles of Paxil. Our 
faith does not come from some mysterious book uncover- 
ed somewhere. No book created the facts of the KERYG- 
MA. The facts created the Book. For God did see fit 
to direct through the Holy Spirit the writing down of 
the. KERYGMA in the books which make up the New Testa- 
ment, That was a necessity for us of later genera- 
tions. The method is described in the preface to 
Luke*s Godpel— 1:1*U. 

What are these facts of the KERYGMA? The first is 
that God sent the Promised One, as a fulfillment of 
prophecy, to accomplish a divine task among men. This 
coming was an invasion of history by the Eternal. 
"The powers of the new age were breaking into history, w 
God appeared among men. 

The second fact is that Christ was God in human 
Flesh. This He claimed to be, a claim that was proved 
by His miracles: the incarnation, power over nature, 
over disease, over death, over demons, and the great- 
est miracle of all, His resurrection. His deity was 
demonstrated also by His sinles$ness. The great 



THE PILGRIM 11 



Christology passages, such as those in Colossians and 
Philippians, set forth the deity of Christ in positive 
notes. The early Christians preached that Jesus of 
Nazarteth was very God. Here was no slowly developing 
mythology, -but a remarkable faith in a contemporary* 

The third fact was that this divine Jesus died a 
redemptive death upon a cross. He went this way of 
ignominy and suffering on account #f the sins of men* 

But /announced the KBRYGMA, : He wxs not conquered 
by death, for He rose from the' grave, thus finally 
establishing His deity, completing redemption, and; $.? s, 
conquering mah*s last enemy. Through His death and 4 
resurrection He became the Saviour of the world. - 

The apostles also taught that Christ is Lord as well 
as Saviour. "It is the PRESENT Lordship of Christ,- 
inaugurated by His resurrection and exaltation to the 
right hand of God that is the center of the faith. of ; r *j 
primitive Christianity, " says Cullm&rm* Lordship goes 
beyond mere Saviourhoodv- 

Another fact of the early KERYGhA was that Christ 1 s 
teaching and example led His disciples to a way of life 
that is revolutionizing and most demanding. This high 
way of holy living is a rock of stumbling to one who 
follows the dictates and the conventions of a faithless 
arid cowardly world. It says "This do" to a world which 
says, "It won't work." The way of love which Christ 
taught and illustrated is an example. Even many 
Christians try to divorce "spiritual" life from the 
personal and social implications of the demands of 
Christ and the great ethical teachings of the Gospels 
and the Epistles. ; . 

Lastly, the early Christians taught that Christ 
will return to judge, the- world in righteousness. This 
will, be anpther climatic invasion of history by, the 
Eternal. *'■;.. . ; ,. 

Thus THE FAITH is Christ; all that He is, all that 
He has done, all that He has said# This faith is 
sinple, related as it is to a historic person and to 
historic facts." But it is also eternally conplex and 
difficult, as those who accept it endeavor to follow 
it in all its ramifications of thought and action. 



12 THE PILGRIM 



We ought to ask ourselves Aether the faith we are 
preserving has any distinctive elements that enable us 
as a church to make a contribution to a world which is 
choking in paganism, immorality, secularism, and senti- 
mental "religion," Certainly much of our faith we hold 
in common with other evangelicals* But our fathers 
whose faith we are endeavoring to preserve, did stand 
for some things beyond the Reformers, who are the 
fathers of Protestantism. They accepted the divine 
demand for a separated and holy life. They took up 
the cross of self-denial, even when it cost their 
lives. They abjured revenge, litigation, and war, and 
showed love for enemies and persecutors. They made 
fellowship in Christ a genuine brotherhood. 

When they spoke of The Cross, they spoke of more 
than Christ's accomplished redemption for us. They 
believed in the necessity and the efficacy of Christ's 
Cross. But they emphasised the great neglected truth 
that Christ asks'us also to take up a cross. It is in 
making Christ our Lord as well as our Saviour that we 
speak our distinctive evangel today. We argue the re- 
levancy of the first two- thirds of the Gospels, and 
of the great ethical demands of our Lord and the apost- 
les. The KERIGM& which we hold is a Lord undivided by 
faith and practice. "For me to live is Christ." That 
means all of me and all of Christ. 

The Christian faith calls for a personal espousal, 
a personal commitment, a personal consecration. Then 
THE faith has become MY faith. 

—Adapted from Gospel Herald, 19!>3. 

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS 

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the date your subscription expires. 

For your convenience a self -addressed envelope 
and renewal form is inclosed with this issue. 
We thank you for your past subscription and 
interest, and hope for your renewal for 1959* 
Wishing the grace of God upon all our readers 
for a prosperous and happy New Year.— THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM 1£ 



WHAT IS LIFE?- MATT. 6:19-31* 
It may seem a bit trite to ask, "What is life? 1 ' 
but sometimes the stalest of subjects will stand a 
little further study.. Some questions are new and vital 
to every generation, and life is one of the great 
mysterious question marks that has baffled the rich 
and the poor,— the beggar and the philosopher, ever 
since time began, 

A man's answer to this question determines his 
ideals and the individual notion of what is worth 
while, for our idea of life is bound up with our notion 
of what is the greatest treasure. We sometimes sur- 
mise that treasures are forbidden things, — especially 
for Christians,— but a second thought will certainly 
help us to understand that our Master rather advises 
us to make an effort to get on in life, and, in the 
exercise of good business judgment, lay up for our- 
selves treasures where they will be secure. If we 
appreciate real values we will not be as anxuous to 
risk our all on the wild-cat ventures c earth as to 
invest our treasure in the indestructible securities 
of heaven. 

There is a fundamental reason why a man's treasure 
should be of the right sort. You can tell one's occu- 
pation by his talk, for a farmer's favorite theme is 
farming; the business man talks of his business j the 
professional man cannot avoid a reference to his pro- 
fession, and if a miser speaks at all, it will, most 
likely, be of his dollars. Whatever a man succeeds at 
soon determines his chief interest. It is no. wonder 
that where a man's treasure is there you will also 
find his heart. There can be but one chief pursuit 
and if the whole force of a man's energies is devoted 
to the treasure of this earth, the things of the 
heavenly kingdom are bound to be neglected. In like 
manner, if the heavenly things are made first, the 
treasures of this earth must at least take second 
place. Two powers, as diametrically opposed as God 
and Mammon, cannot reign jointly in the same heart. 
But are riches so totally bad, that God and Mammon 



1U THE PILGRIM 



stand opposed? Modern conditions demand money, 
clothes and food for the body are physical needs that 
must be supplied, and sincq it takes money to get these 
essentials, inbiley mufcft.be £ necessity f So it seems 
that money must be had, and under the present stress 
there is no little anxiety about its accumulation. 

When the Master so heartily condemned Mairaaon, he 
was teacher enough to know that the money question 
would follow, and so he anticipates the anxiety of his 
audience and begins to answer it immediately; "Is not 
the life more than the food, and the body than the 
raiment?" So him that is over anxious Christ would 
have first consider that life is more than the simple 
physical necessities that money can buy. 

The most that money can do is simply to get us 
clothes and food, but in the end, is life to be sum- 
med up in plenty to eat and plenty to wear? Many live 
as though to be full and warm was the chief end of man 
but at the last, if one escape dyspepsia and gout, is 
there any real satisfaction in that sort of living? 
If that is the sum of life, the birds and the beasts 
ar^ richer than men, for they are clothed and fed and 
yet are spared the anxiety that drives some people 
insane. 

The whole testimony of the age is against such a 
narrow vision of life. If the chief end of man were 
to eat and drink providence fought to have given him 
the multiple stomach system of the cow. To live is 
more than to be full, for the short span of years that 
falls to man is but a brief season of preparation for 
the greater life beyond. 

And what of the body? Is it only something to be 
kept warm, a convenient rack on which to display one^s 
clothes,' or a something, to be bent in shape to suit 
fashion's latest whim? Paul's emphatic answer to such 
a notion 'of the; purpose of the body is exactly the 
contrary, fdr/ he says, "Know ye not that your body is 
a temple of the Holy Spirit?" 

It would s£em that a proper consideration of this 
warning of the Master to those who are likely to *be 
distracted over money matters, would have been enough, 



THE PILGRIM 15 



but he adds a second reason when he calls attention to 
the fact that the birds and even the flowers enjoy the 
provident watch care pf God, If the least of Jehovah's 
creation enjoy his blessing, how much more shall man, 
unto whom God has given the dominion of the earth, 
bask in the sunshine of his goodness. Then, with keen 
logic, Christ adds a third reason, when he further 
suggests that it is not only God, but a kind heavenly 
Father who cares for us. This Father is acquainted 
with all our needs, and infinitely more able and will- 
ing to bless than the earthly parent could ever hope 
to be (Luke 11:1-13). 

Therefore be not anxious or distracted. If we 
attend to the things of God's kingdom first, he will 
meanwhile so abundantly care for his own that his work 
shall go on to a glorious conclusion. Paul was a 
staunch believer in this doctrine and he sums up his 
notion thereof when he rather bluntly says, If God 
"spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us 
all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all 
things?"— A selected article in July 1911 Vindicator. 

KEEP YOUR LIGHT SHINNING. MATT. 5:H* 

Do not hide your light under a bushel, 
Or others may not see its glow; 
But hold it high, bright and shining, 
A beacon, wherever you go. 

Is the bushel that keeps your light from shinning, 

A measure for money, or grain? 

Or a measure for power, for greatness, 

For trading, for pleasure, for gain? 

These are things that keep your light hidden. 
As clouds overshadow the sun; 
We must capture the light of the Spirit, 
And unhidden, tfeat light must pass on. 

So just keep your light bright and shinning, 
Set it high over measures for gain; 
For God knows your light and your darkness, 
And knows what your measures contain. 

—Annie Baker, Manle, Onterio 



16 THE PILGRIM 



EVIDENCES OF ^REGENERATION 
(Condensed from lire lee turesi of ~C. G» Finney, 18U8) 

WHEREIN SJVINTS i*NP SINNERS MUST DIFFER. 

3. Let it be distinctly ramexnbered that all nnregenerate 
persons, without exception, have one heart* that ie, they are 
selfish* This is their whole character* They are universally 
and only devoted to self-gratification* Their unregenerate heart 
consists in this selfish disposition, or in this selfish choice. 
This choice is the foundation of, and the reason for* ail their 
activity. One and the same ultimate reason actuates them "in • 
all they do, and in all they omit, and that reason is either . * 
presently or remqtely, directly or indirectly, to gratify 
themselves* 

2. The regenerate heart is disinterested benevolence* In 
other words, it is love to God and our neighbor. All regenerate 
hearts are precisely similar* All true saints, whenever they 
have truly the 'heart of the saints of God, are j^uated by one 
and the same motive* They have only one ultimate reason for all 
they do, and suffer, or omit* They have dne ultimate intention, 
one end* They live for 'one and the same object, and that is the 
same end for which God lives* 

3* The saint is governed by reason, the law of God, or the 
moral law; in other words still, the law of disinterested and 
universal benevolence is. his law. This law is not only revealed 
and developed in his intelligence, but it is written in hi3 
heart. So that the law of his intellect is the. law of Ids 
heart* He not only sees and acknowledges what he ought to do 
and be, but he t is conscious to himself, and gives evidence to 
others, whether they receive it and are convinced by it or not, 
that his heart, his will, or intention, is conformed to his 
convictions of duty. He sees the path of duty, and follows it. 
He knows what he ought to will, intend, and do, and does it. 
Of this he is conscious* ; „ And of this others may be satisfied, 
if they are observing, charitable, and candid* 

4. The sinner is contrasted with this, in the most important 
and fundamental respects. He is not governed by reason and 
principle, but by feeling, desire, and impulse* Sometimes his 
feelings coincide with the intelligence, and sometimes they do 
not. But when they do so coincide, the will does not pursue* 
its course out of respect or in obedience to the law of the 
intelligence, but in obedience to the impulse of the sensibility, 
which, for the time being, impels in the same direction as does 
the law of the reason. But for .the most part the impulses of 
the sensibility incline him to worldly gratifications, and in' 

an opposite direction to that which the intelligence points 
out* This leads him to a -course of life that is too manifestly 
the opposite of reason, to leave any rooir f or doubt as to what 
his true character is* * 



17 

5* The saint la justified, and he has the evidence of It in 
the peace of his own mind* He is conscious of obeying the law 
of reason and of love. Consequently he naturally has that kind 
and degree of peace that flows from the harmony of his will 
with the law of his intelligence* He sometimes has conflicts 
with the impulses of feeling and desire* But unless he is., 
overcome, these conflicts* though they may cause him inwardly* 
and, perhaps audibly, to groan* do not interrupt his peace* 
There are still the elements of peace within him. His heart 
and conscience are at one, and while this is so, he has thus 
far the -evidence of justification in himself* That is, he 
knows that God cannot condemn his present state* Conscious 
as he is of conformity of heart to the moral law, he cannot 
butaaffirm to himself, that the Lawgiver is pleased with his 
present attitude* But further, he has also within the Spirit 
of God witnessing with his spirit, that he is a child of God, 
forgiven, accepted, adopted. He* leels the filial spriit draw- 
ing his heart to exclaim. Father, father* He is conscious that 
he pleases God, and has God's smile of approbation* 

He- is at peace with himself, because he affirms his heart to 
be in unison with the law of love* His conscience does not 
upbraid, but smile* The harmony of his own being is a witness 
to himself, thet this is the state in which he was made to 
exist. He is at peace with God, because he and God are pur- 
suing precisely the same end, and by the same means* There 
can be no collision, no controversy between them* He is at 
peace with the universe, in the sense, that he has no ill-will, 
and no malicious feelings or wish to gratify, in the injury 
of any one of the creatures of God* He has no fear, but to sin 
against God* He is not influenced on the one hand by the fear 
of hell, nor on the other by the hope of reward. He is not 
anxious about his own salvation, but prayerfully and calmly 
leaves that question in the hands of God, and concerns himself 
only to promote the highest glory of God, and the good of being* 
"Being justified hy faith, he has peace with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ*" "There is now no condemnation to them 
that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but 
after the Spirit*" 

6. The sinner* s experience is the opposite of this* He is 
under condemnation, and seldom can so far deceive himself, 
even in his most religious moods, as to imagine that he has a 
consciousness of acceptance either with his own conscience or 
with God* There is almost never a time in which he has not a 
greater or less degree of restlessness and misgiving within* 
Even when he is most engaged in religion, as he supposes, he 
finds himself dissatisfied with himself* Something is wrong* 
There is a struggle and a pang* He may not exactly see where 
and what the difficulty is. He does not, after all, obey 
reason and conscience, and is not governed by the law and will 
of God. Not having the consciousness of this obedience, his 
conscience does not smile* He sometimes feels deeply, and acts 
as he feels, and is conscious of being sincere in the sense of 



18 ; THE PILGRIM ■ 

f feeling what he says, and acting in obedience to deep feeling* 
But this does not satisfy conscience* He is more or less 
-wretched after all* He has not true peace* Sometimes he has 
a self-righteous quiet and enjoyment* But this is neither 
peace of conscience nor peace with God* He, after all* feels 
uneasy and condemned, not-withstanding all his feeling, and 
zeal, and activity* They are not of the right kind* Hence 
they do not satisfy the conscience* They do not meet the de- 
mands of his intelligence* Conscience does not approve. He 
has not, after all, true peace* He is not justified; he cannot 
be fully and ' permanently satisfied that he is* 

7. Saints are interested in, and sympathize with, every 
effort to reform mankind, and promote the interests of truth 
and righteousness in the earth* 

The good of being is the end for which the saint really and 
truly lives*. This is not merely held by him as a theory, as an 
opinion, as a theological or philosophical speculation. It is 
in his heart, and precisely for this reason he is a saint. He 
is a saint just because the theory, which is lodged in the 
head of both saint and sinner, has also a lodgment and reigning 
power in his heart, and consequently in his life* 

As saints supremely value the highest good of being, they 
will, and must-, take a deep interest in whatever is promotive 
of that, end* Hence, their spirit is necessarily that of the 
reformer* To^the universal reformation of the world they stand 
committed. To this end they are devoted* For this end they 
live, and move, and have their being, ©very proposed reform 
interests them,- and naturally leads them to examine its claims* 
The fact is, they are studying and devising ways and means to 
convert, sanctify, reform mankind. Being in this state of mind, 
. they are predisposed to lay hold on whatever gives promise of 
good to man* True saints love reform. It is their business, 
their profession, their life to promote it; consequently they 
are ready to examine the claims of any proposed reform; candid 
and self-denying, and ready to be convinced, however much self- 
denial it may call them to. They have actually rejected self- 
indulgence, as the end for which they live, and are ready to 
sacrifice any form of self-indulgence, for the sake of promot- 
ing the good of men and the glcry cf Sod. The saint is truly 
and ju&tlyy desirous and in earnest, to reform all sin out of 
the world, and just for this reason is ready to hail with joy, 
and to try whatever reform seems, from the best light he can 
get, to bid fair to put down sin, and the evils that are in 
the world. Ifren mistaken men, who are honestly endeavoring to 
reform mankind, and denying their appetites, as many have done 
in dietetic reform, are deserving of. the respect of their fellow 
men. Suppose their philosophy to be incorrect, yet they have 
intended well. They have manifested a disposition to deny 
themselves, for the purpose pf promoting the good of others* 
They have been honest and zealous in this. Now no true saint 
can feel or express contempt for such reformers, however muoh 
mistaken they may be* No; his, natural sentiments and feelings 



THE PTIGRIM 1? 



will be, and must be y the reverse of contempt or censoriousness 
in respect to them* If their mistake has been injurious* he 
may mourn over the evil, but will not, cannot, severely judge 
the honest reformer* War, slavery, licentiousness, and all 
such like evils and abominations, are necessarily regarded by 
the saint as great and sore evils, and he longs for their comp- 
lete and final overthrow. It is impossible that a truly benevo- 
lent mind should not thus regard these abominations of desola- 
tion* 

The saints in all ages have been reformers* I know it is 
said, that neither prophets, Christ, nor apostles, nor primitive 
saints and martyrs declaimed against war and slavery, etc* But 
they did* The entire instructions of Christ, and of apostles 
and prophets, were directly opposed to these and all other evils* 
If they did not come out against certain legalized f orms of sin, 
and denounce them by name, and endeavor to array public senti- 
ment against them, it is plainly because they were, for the most 
part, employed in a preliminary work. To introduce the gospel 
as a divine revelation; to set up and organize the visible 
kingdom of God on earth; to lay a foundation for universal re- 
form, was rather their business, than the pushing f orward of 
particular branches of reform. The overthrow of state idolatry, 
the great and universal sin of the world in that age; the labor 
of getting the world and the governments of earth to tolerate 
and receive the gospel as a revelation from the one only living 
and true God; the controversy with the Jews, to overthrow their 
objections to Christianity; in short, the great and indispens- 
able and preliminary work of gaining for Christ and his gospel 
a hearing, and an acknowledgment of its divinity, was rather 
their work, the pushing of particular precepts and doctrines of 
the gospel to their legitimate results and logical consequences* 
This work once done, has left it for later saints to bring the 
particular truths, precepts, and doctrines of the blessed gospel 
to bear down every form of sin* Prophets, Christ, and his apos- 
tles, have left on the pages of inspiration no dubious testimony 
against every form of sin* The spirit of the whole Bible breath- 
es from every page blasting and annihilation upon every unholy 
abomination, while it smiles upon everything of good report 
that promises blessings to man and glory to God* The saint is 
not merely sometimes a reformer; he is always so* 

(to be continued) 

TEMPERANCK 

It is noteworthy that the Spirit has Peter suggest adding 
temperance to knowledge* knowledge tends to make one conceited, 
puffed up; but knowledge can and should be tempered by self- 
control. Because of my knowledge I know that "this** will not 
hurt me. But I practice self-control and refrain from what is 
harmless because he who has not my knowledge would be offended 
and perhaps would stumble into a multitude of sins. Knowledge 
would give me the right to act, but love leads me to practice 
self-control for the sake of my brother. 

Father, teach me that self-control comes only by being con- 
trolled by the©.— Selected 



20 THE PILGRIM 



Ptstefetl 



THE PROPAGATION OF CHRISTIANITY 
AFTER THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES 

It is our object in this chapter to state what is 
material in the early history of such of the Churches 
of Christ, whether founded by the apostles themselves, 
or their companions , or their immediate successors, as 
were permitted to attain importance and stability 
during the first two centuries # For this purpose we 
have not thought it necessary to describe the circum- 
stances which are detailed in the sacred writings, and 
are familiar to all our readers. The Churches which 
seem to claim our principal attention are eight in 
number, and shall be treated in the following order; 
Jerusalem and Antioch, Ephesus and Smyrna, Athens and 
Corinth, Rome and Alexandria; but our notice will be 
extended to some others, according to their connection 
with these, their consequence, or local situation. 
It is thus that we shall gain our clearest view of the 
progress made by. infant Christianity, and the limits 
within which it was restrained* 

1; The converts of Jerusalem naturally formed the 
earliest Christian society, and for a short period 
.probably the most numerous; but the Mosaic jealousy 
which repelled the communion of the gentile world, and 
thus occasioned^ some internal dissensions, as well as 
the increasing/hostility of the Jewish people and 
government, n$ doubt impeded their subsequent increase* 
The same causes operated, though not to the same extent, 
on the Churches established in other parts of Palestine, 
as in Galilee* and Caesarea, and even on those of Tyre, 
Ptoleraais, and Caesar ea # About the year 60 A, D # , 
James, surnamed the Just, brother of the Saviour, who 
was the £irst President or Bishop of the Church of 
Jerusalafm, perished by a violent death; and when its 
member^ subsequently assembled for the purpose of 
electing his successor, their choice fell on Symeon, 
who £s also said to have been a kinsman of Jesus* 
Shortly after the death of St. James, an insurrection 



THE PILGRIM 21 



>>f the Je^s broke out, which was followed by the in- 
invasion of the Roman armies, and was not finally 
suppressed until the year 70 vihen the city was over*- 
whelmed by Titus, and utterly destroyed* 

A short time before the Roman invasion, we are 
informed that the Christian Church seceded from a spot 
which prophecy had taught to hold devoted, and retired 
to Pella, beyond the Jordan* Prom this circumstance 
it becomes at laast probable, that the Christians did 
not sustain their full share of the calamities of 
their country j but though their proportion to the whole 
population may thus have been increased, their actual 
numbers could not fail to be somewhat diminished, aince 
they could not wholly withdraw themselves from a 
tempest directed indiscriminately against toe whole 
nation* 

During the next sixty years we read little respect- 
ing the Church of Jerusalem except the*- names of fifteen 
successive presidents, called bishops of the Circunw 
cisionj 1 fourteen of these only belong to the period 
in question, since they begin, with James:, and they, 
appear to end at the second destruction of the city 
by the emperor Adrian. But the times of these succes- 
sions are extremely uncertain, as the first Christians 
had little thought of posterity, nor were any tabular- 
ies preserved in their churches, nor any public acts 
or monuments of their proceedings. The Church over 
which they presided seems to have perished with them; 
but there is still reason to believe that it was not 
numerous, and. we may attribute its weakness partly to 
the continued action of the two causes above mentioned, 
and partly to the absolute depopulation of the country, 
let it would appear from Scripture that some sort of 
authority was at first exercised by the Mother Church 
over her Gentil^ children; and that »the decrees 
ordained by the apostles and elders which were at 
Jerusalem 1 found obedience £ven among distant converts. 

On the summit of the sacred hill, out of the ruins 
whi<?h, deformed it, Adrian erected a new city, to which 
he gave the new and Roman title of Aelia Capitolina, 
thinking perhaps that he should erase from all future 



22 THE PILGRIM 



history the hateful name of Jerusalem, or that a city 
with a more civilized appellation would be inhabited 
by less rebellious subjects, or that the contumacy of 
the Jews was associated with the NAME of their capital* 
A new Church was then established, composed no longer 
of Jews, but of Gentiles only, and was governed by a 
new succession of bishops, as obscure and as rapid as 
that which we have mentioned. Their names are also 
transmitted to us by the diligence of Eusebius, but 
none with any distinction except Narcissus, the 
fifteenth in order, who flourished about the year 180 
and of whom some traditionary miracles are recorded. 

Such are the imperfect accounts which remain to us 
respecting the early history of the Church in Palestine; 
but, imperfect as they are, we are enabled to collect - 
from them that the progress of Christianity in that 
stubborn soil was slow, and its condition uncertain . 
and fluctuating. And this conclusion is confirmed by 
the direct assertion of Justin Martyr, a Samaritan - 
proselyte of the second century, our best authority 
for that age and country, who expressly assures us 
that the converts in Judaea and Samaria were inferior, 
Both in number and fidelity, to those of the Gentiles,, 
We behold the desolation of Judaea, and some from every 
race of men who believe the teaching of Christ's 
Apostles, and have abandoned their ancient custom in 
which they fell astray. We behold ourselves, too, 
and we perceive that the Christians among the Gentiles 
are more numerous and more faithful than among the 
Jews and Samaritans, fle then proceeds to account for 
the fact, 1 that none of these have believed excepting 
some few, 1 by appeal to the prophetic writers. 

— Waddington's History of The Church. 

"An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after 
a sign*" Do you want to travel a little closer to the 
world, but first you want a sign that God approves? 
ton may get your "go ahead" sign. Balaam did* But if 
you truly want God«s will, pray with an undecided heart. 
God knows when you are really open to His leading. He 
rewards the true seeker~most often giving guidance j 
with the Bible itself .—Selected 



THE PILSRIM 23 



THE RAPTURE 

Ten thousand times ten thousand 

In sparkling raiment bright, 
The armies of the ransomed saints 

Throng up the steeps of light: . 
«Tis finished i all is finished, 

Their fight with death and sin: 
Fling open wide the golden gates, 

And let the victors in* 

What rush of alleluias 

Fills all the : earth and sky J 
What ringing of a thousand harps 

Bespeaks the triumph nigh i 
day, for which creation 

And all its tribes. were made! 
joy, for all its-former woes 

A thousand-fold TepaidI >> \ . 

then what raptured greetings 

On Canaan's happy shore 1 
What knitting severed friendships up, 

Where partings are no more J 
Then. eyes with, joy shall sparkle 

That brimmed with tears of late; 
Crphanp no longer fatherless, 

Nor widows desolate* 

Bring near thy great salvation, 

Thou Lamb for sinners slain; 
Fill up the roll of thine elect, 

Then take thy power and reignl 
Appear, Desire of nations] 

Thine exiles long for home: 
Show in the heavens thy promised signl 

Thou Prince and Saviour, cornel 

- Henry Alford, 1867 



2k THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
— LUKE- 

Luke's purpose in writing the gospel which bears 
his name is stated in the opening verses. He was 
not an eyewitness to the life of Christ, but wrote 
that which he received from those who were, 

Luke relates certain things which are not mention- 
ed by Matthew and Markj for instance the account of 
the birth and early life of John the Baptist j and 
other events as well as many parables. He is believed 
to be the writer of the Acts of the apostles which 
begins at about the same point where this gospel ends* 

Beginning with the birth of John and then of Jesus 
the account is given of the life of Christ. Luke 
tells of the ministry of John and of Jesus ! baptism. 
Then of the many miracles and works which Jesus did 
and of the wonderful sermons which he preached. 

In the closing chapters we have the sorrowful 
account of the final supper of the Lord with his dis- 
ciples, and of his prayer in the garden when his 
sweat became as great drops of bloody and how He was 
betrayed and mistreated and finally put to death on 
the Cross. 

But how glad we can be that the account does not 
end there J But, He arosel And ascended up into 
heaven; there to make intercession for his people, 
that they might be saved and likewise be triumphant 
over death and the grave. 

QUESTIONS: 

1. Name the twelve apostles. 

2. How many did the Lord send out the second 

time when he sent them two by two? 

3. Where did he tell them to go? and what 

were they to do? 

lu How long was Christ on the cross? 

Daniel S. Wagner 
Modesto, California 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 FEBRUARY, 1959 NO. 2 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2; 1 1 



THE MDUSTiJMS OF LIFE 

There's a land far away, raid the stars, we 

are told, 
Where they know not the sorrow of time; 
Where the pure waters -wander thru valleys 

of gold, 
Jind life Is a treasure sublime; 
Tis the land of our God, tis the home of the 

soul, 
Where ages of splendor eternally roll: — 
"Where the way— weary traveler reaches his 

goal 
On the evergreen mountains of life* 

Our gaze cannot soar to that beautiful land, 
But our visions have told of its bliss, 
And our souls by the gale from its gardens 

are fanned 
When we faint in the deserts of this, 
And we sometimes have longed for its holy 

repose, 
When our spirits were torn with tempta- 
tions and woes, 
And we've drank from the tide of the river 

that flows 
From the evergreen mountains of life* 

Oi the stars never tread the blue heavens 

at night 
But we think where the ransomed have trods 
And the day never smiles from its palace of night 
But we feel the bright smiles of our Gtd» 
We are traveling homeward through changes 

and gloom, 
Tc a kingdom where pleasures unchangingly bloom, 
And our guide is the glory that shines 

thru the tomb 
From tlie evergreen mountains »f life* 

— Selected 



26 THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM U a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate; $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request, Address; THE PILGRIM, Kit. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



"FOR THE LAW WAS GIVEN BY MOSES, 
BUT GRACE AND TRUTH CAME BY JESUS CHRIST," 

God is the author of both the law and grace. Both 
are an expression of an attribute of God and are com- 
plimentary one to the other. Without the law, grace 
would have no meaning to us f 

The law is an expression of God's holiness, and 
demands holiness or righteousness of man, But grace 
is an expression of God's lovs&'j and provides the oppor- 
tunity and means for man to satisfy .the demands of the 
law. For what the law could not do, in that it was 
weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the 
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin 
in the flesh; that the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW might 
be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but 
after the Spirit. Rom. 8:3>Ue 

Thus God still requires obedience to his revealed 
will, under grace, the £sune as he did under the law. 
And to disobey is SIN, under grace, the same as it was 
under the law. Under the law, Every transgression and 
disobedience received a just recompence of reward 
(immediate punishment), and thereby Satan could take 
advantage of man through the weakness and lusts of the 
flesh to induce him to commit sin, by disobeying God's 
law, and then of necessity the penalty was applied, 
which was condemnation and death. And so, Because of 
the weakness of the flesh, the law became, in Paul f s 
language, ''The ministration of death. 1 ? It was never 
intended to be so. God's love was as great under the 
law as it is tinder grace. And his demand for holiness 
is as positive under grace as it was under the law. 
For, 'Without peace and holiness, no man shall see 
the Lord." 

It must be remembered that sin was in the world be- 
fore the "law" was given: "For until the law sin was 



THE PILGRIM 27 



in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no 
law, , , Moreover the law entered, that the offence 
might abound: " or, so that it could be exposed and 
something done about it, 

Grace is said to be "unmerited favor." It also 
means time and opportunity to meet an obligation. Both 
definitions seem to be the meaning of God f s grace to 
fallen humanity. In the fullest sense of the word, 
grace is conditional. It was conditioned by the Atone- 
ment of Jesus Christ; for the justice of God could not 
permit him to forgive sins without the Atonement. And 
it was motivated by the infinite love of God, which 
places the greatest possible obligation on all who 
receive it. 

The Atonement itfas the first manifestation of the 
grace of God to man (Horn. 5:18) , and its first exercise 
was the forgiveness of sins. (Eph. 2:7) « The benefits 
of God ! s grace will never cease. For, "In the ages to 
come he will shew the exceeding riches of his grace in 
his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2: 

7). 

"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The truth 
is, that God's supreme attribute is love; but this 
could not be realized by guilty sinners under the 
law because of the severe penalty for sin. God never 
at any time willed or intended to destroy his people; 
but Satan, through temptation and disobedience, got 
them into a position where the very means which was 
intended to beget holiness in them, was turned to des- 
truction, as Paul says, "And the commandment which was 
ordained unto life, I found to be unto death. For sin 
taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by 
it slew me. "Wherefore the law is holy, and command- 
ment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is 
good made death unto me? God forbid. But SIN that it 
might appear SIN, working death in me by that which is 
good; that sin by the commandment might become EXCEED- 
ING SINFUL. For we know that the law is spiritual: but 
I am carnal, sold under sin." (Rom. 7*10-lU)» Thus is 
exposed the most dreadful and iniquitous nature of sin 
and its Author. By this means, if allowed to continue, 



28 THE PILGRIM 



-Satan -could 'deceive* the" children of *God^ into believing 
that God is the'cause of all the misery; suffered 'by 
humanity because of sin; as he attempted in the 'case 
of Job, ::: ■•' i ■ 

God is just; and he cannot &llow Satan to tajke such 
an advantage.' -God is love and has no delight in the 
death* of a : sinner. Therefore in Christ Jesus, he pro- 
vided a way to save sinners from death by the forgive- 
ness of their sins; which was the most gracious mani- 
festation of love ever known* For "God was in Christ, 
reconciling the world unto himself , not imputing their 
tresspasses unto them." (II Cor. 5:19) « "But God corn- 
mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were, yet 
sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5*8). 

The question may arise: T Why, then, was the law 
given first? before this gracious act of forgiveness. 
The answer 'to this question should prove that the grace 
of God is on conditions, the first of which is FAITH 
in Christ and his Atonement which makes the forgive- 
ness * of sihs possible; and, second, the choice and 
will of -the -sinner to ' return to obedience to God. An 
important distinction should be made here; that in 
forgiving sin, God did not ignore it. If he could have 
ignored it, no atonement would have been necessary. 
But the Atonement proves that God cannot ignore sin. 
It is this fact which gives the grace of God its mean- 
ing, and clearly indicates that the sinner cannot con- 
tinue in sin and abide in the grace of God. *' 

It must be remembered that man was created "good 11 , 
and in Eden they apparently enjoyed divine favor and . 
were entitled to it a But after sin entered, they were, 
not entitled to it; and to extend divine favor in the 
sinful state, would appear to all intelligent beings 
that God was coniving with sin. Therefore g^ace could 
not be proffered until sin was exposed and provision 
made to take it away. What a tragedy if man should 
have to live forever in sin. Truly, in such a condi- 
tion "sin would reigh", and the love of God would be 
completely obscured. "Death reigned" from Adam to 
Moses even over them- who had not sinned as Adam did, 
and without the law man never could have known what 



THE PILGRIM 29 



was the cause of all his misery. Sin was the cause, 
and Satan was the author of it, but without the law to 
expose both sin and its author, man would have been 
driven to the fearful conclusion that it was God who 
was the cause of it. Paul said, "I had not known sin 
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Thus 
it is clear why the law was given before grace came. 

The grace of God was given to save lost sinners, 
and every sinner is obligated to the greatest possible 
degree of heartfelt love to God to return to the most- 
penitent and devoted obedience to him. Under grace, 
God deals with the motive first; so that if the motive 
is right, then progress can be made toward right acts. 

The law intended the same, but when an offence was 
committed, the sinner lost his favorable standing with 
God and was under condemnation; and love and fellowship 
cannot obtain where there is a state of guilt and con- 
demnation. But "There is therefore now no condemnation 
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the 
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from 
the law of sin and death. 

Therefore the child of God who wills and intends to 
serve Him, by virtue of his union with Christ, has his 
sins forgiven, and lives. Thus grace provides the 
opportunity to understand both the love and will of 
God, and to obey him. But not only is sin forgiven by 
the grace of Godj but by the Holy Ghost, which is the 
* Spirit of Truth, the laws of God are written in the 
heart of the believer, and provides both encouragement 
and the POWER to overcome sin and bear fruit unto holi- 
ness: Just as good parents, by love and good will to 
their children, encourage them to obey and do right. 
Even where chastisement is necessary for acts of dis- 
obedience, in order to induce reform there must of 
necessity be forgiveness. No child who is held in a 
constant state of condemnation by its parents can love 
them or be encouraged to do right. This is clearly 
~ taught by the grace of God, and is the reason why the 
"law" could not give life. 

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 



30 THE PILGRIM 



appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodly- 
riess and worldly lusts, we. should live soberly, right-' 
eously, and godly, in this present world j Looking for 
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the 
great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave him- 
self for .us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, 
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
good* works. r These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke 
with 'all' authority. Let no man despise thee." (Titus 

v ' • REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS 
By J. I. Cover 

This principle and power; the ability to realize 
our condition, and change from n sin unto death" to 
"obedience unto righteousness, 11 is a God-given redeem- 
ing grace that he demands we use to be accepted, and 
have forgiveness of sins. God "now commandeth all men 
everywhere to REPENT" Acts 17:30. SORROW for our sins 
as we read "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salva- 
tion not to be repented of; but the SORROW OF THE 
WORLD WORKETH DEATH, II Cor. 7:10. Godly sorrow follows 
when we realize our condition. The prodigal son said; 
"Father I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 
and am no more worthy to be called thy son: Make me as 
one of thy hired servants." This shows CONFESSION to 
be important. Wnen John the Baptist called the people 
to "repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand," they 
came and were baptized in Jordan CONFESSING their sins. 
Tears shed for sin are not wasted, the sinful woman 
that came to Jesus In Simon's house, wept abundantly, 
and received the blessing. "Repent, and be baptized 
every one of you in the najme of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Glibstb" Acts 2:38. It is more humilating to con- 
fess our sins, than to just be Sorry for them. Dead 
Works J --how expressive! Every work of sin we do, is 
wasting precious time, * transgresses God's law, and has 
the possibility of death; for the wages of sin is sure- 
death J We must also die to sih to be free and live. 



THE PILGRIM £L 



Repentance begins at the foundation— the start of our 
Christian journey, and this important principle follows 
all the way, to be used in any misstep or misdeed. 
Everytime we sin we must turn in abhorance from it, con- 
fess to God, and pray that he forgive us our sins, and 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It must be from 
the heart, that we detest and despise this loathsome, 
and unholy condition of sinning in the presence of God. 
Repentance is listed first in the catalog of principles 
in Hebrews 6. Faith comes close, yet the BEGINNING OF 
REPENTANCE is to realize our desperate condition, and 
look for the way out. God shows the way out in his 
word of life, and to please him we must have faith. It 
is possible to progress in sin to a condition where 
repentance cannot avail. Judas repented of his betrayal 
of Jesus, and despairing hanged himself. To fall away 
from grace, and enlightenment "It is impossible to renew 
them to repentance f " Heb. 6:U-6. Esau "found no place 
of repentance though he saught it carefully with tears." 
Perhaps the last partial act of repentance comes at the 
great judgment day, when indeed our eyes will be opened 
to full understanding and conqprehension. Jesus will say 
"Come ye blessed of My Father inherit the kingsom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the World." That 
kingdom will appear so wonderful, bright and glorious 
with all the shining hosts of heaven, that poor redeemed 
Christians will sayj "undone, unworthy" and will shed 
tears for the last time, forj "And God shall wipe away 
all tears from their wyes: and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there 
be any more pain; for the former things are passed 
away Rev. 21:1*. 

But the most solemn despairing condition that we 
shrink to face is described in the same scene when Jesus 
will say "Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The 
horrible prospect to see that evil place, every evil 
person, every evil sin and way in that place. Where 
Jesus says "there will be weeping, wailing, and gnash- 
ing of teeth. Who would not desire to repent, turn 
away from that place? Too late. 



2L 



THE PILGRIM 



Repentance must begin at the strait gate of the 
Narrow Way. 

, Repent, repent, with sorrow crying; 
^r". , . Confess thy sins, do not despair; 
How soon we may be with the dying I 
While it is called today prepare. 

Could you still prize the way of sinning, 
When life and peace God's way attends? 

When goodness means a new beginning, 
.And evil blackest night portends? 

Qr would you strive to race the faster, 
Down the dark way of sore distress? 

To stand upon brink of disaster; 
Away from light and righteousness? 

Ohi do you hear the Spirit speaking, 
In warning tones you to invite, 

To ways of truth and earnest seeking; 
Find faith and hope and love's delight? 

Come, take my yoke Jesus is saying; 
Repent while it is called today; 
....' Kneel that the Lord may see you prating, 
And wash your darkest sins away. 

He sees your tears when you awaken; 
.He knows your deepest dark distress; 
He onetime felt forlorn, forsaken; 
He knows your nights of wakefulness. 

Come home I come home! follow your Saviour; 

He loves you now. for ever more; 
Come dwell with him in life and favor, 

And Heaven's happy land explore. 

— Star Route Box .1160, Sonera, Calif. 
Next: TURNING FROM GOD. 



THE PILGRIM ^L 



PRIDE AMD SHAME 

God did not create pride, but when a created being 
first rebelled against God, pride was born, and with 
it came shame, guilt, and punishment. Because there 
can be no proud thing in God's presence, Lucifer and h 
his legions were cast down from Heaven. Because God 
could tolerate no pride in paradise, Adam and Eve were 
driven forth. From that time to this, beneath all man J s 
sin, shame and suffering, we can see the rebellion of 
that first primordial pride. Pride is the rebellion 
which breaks the divine order and puts self before God # 
Pride is inordinate self-esteem, a self-esteem which 
does not know its place, is out of God*s order, and is 
not according to God's will. 

One of God's strongest denunciations of pride is 
found in the first three chapters of Isaiah. In Isaiah 
1:2-3, God reveals to the prophet that Israel's sin is 
an inordinate self-esteem (pride). Israel is out of 
order, she does not know her place, she rebels against 
God, while even oxen and asses know their masters! In 
Isaiah 2:6-9 God forsakes Israel because she has for- 
saken Him- and turned toward the East, toward heathen 
nations. She has become like the Philistines and has 
adopted the worldly ways of strangers. Israel has 
prospered, multiplied her luxuries and conveniences, 
and turned to worshipping the work of her own hands. 
Her people bow down to the idols they have made for 
themselves. In their pride they worship themselves i 
Isaiah 2:10-22 contains a great hymn of humiliation, in 
which God's unforgiving judgment is seen coming upon 
those who refuse to repent. The lofty looks of men 
shall be humbled, their proud thoughts brought down, 
their country's rich natural resources laid waste, their 
great military defenses and centers of civilization 
destroyed, their prosperous international trade cut 
off, their proud culture and fine arts demolished, and 
all their idols utterly abolished. In that day men 
shall throw away their gold and silver to the bats and 
moles. All the proud products of human culture shall 
become like garbage and worthless refuse, as men try 



3U THE PILGRIM 



to Tiide" tliemselves Trom the wrath of the Lord, All 
man's vanity shall be cast down* Isaiah exclaims in 
abhorrence: "C§ase ye from man,, • • for herein is he 
to be accounted of?" 

Hqyr hard it is for human pride to hear that all of 
man Vs glory is of no account in God's eyes I In the 
next" chapter (Isaiah 3-1-26), the prophet further de- 
nounces Israel f s "sins of pride: the pride of false 
priests and prophets who deceive the people into be- 
lieving that everything is all right, the pridie of 
arrogant rulers who have become greedy politicians and 
grafters, the insolence of children who behave them- 
selves proudly against their elders, the pride of 
women who rule over men > the pride of the rich who 
exploit the poor, the pride of the daughters of Zion 
who display their jewelry and painted faces and immod- 
est attire with all its luxurious vanityi How far 
Israel has fallen from God's order and gone into pridel 
And we shudder because of their awful sins, and hope 
that they turned from 'pride and back to Godi 

Pride was the greaVsin not only of that distant 
da.y in the past. It remains a present threat. All 
that Isaiah said about the backsliding Jewish dhurch 
could be said about many professing Christians in the 
churches' today c Pride is America's great sin— Unless 
there' is real repdntanc&, (not merely "going to church") 
doorrt will surely come. We see men parried away in the 
pride of nationalism, militarism, materialism, cultural 
and intellectual refinement, and fashionable vanity. 
We rtust realize that the sin question, the pride ques- 
tion, cannot be settled by just "going to church" or 
by just "accepting forgiveness" from Christ and then 
continuing in sin and pridel 'There must be real re- 
pentance. There must be a continuing discipleship. 
Pride is beiftg out of God's order. {'lay we in all 
things be found in His will. 

One common example nowadays of rebellious human 
pride is the practice of unconverted and/or even pro- 
fessing Christian women and girls in cutting or trim- 
ming their h^ir: God says the long hair is their 
GLOET, hut that shorn or shaven heads are their SHAME. 



THE PILGRIM 35 



What does SHORN mean except the act of having used the 
shears to cut or clip or trim the hair? It is only 
pride that causes girls or women to cut their God-given 
glorious long hair^ thus turning GLORY into SHAME, 
"When .pride' cometh, then cometh shame. 11 May we keep 
close to what God calls glory, and far from human pride, 
which God calls shame. Amen. 

- By William McGrath in 'Herald of Truth. 

"BLESSED IS HE "THAT REAJDETH" 

When you stop to think of it, God has shown in an undeniable 
way that he is opposed to ignorance and is in favor of learaig 
of the right kind* for He has committed the revelation of HLm#« 
self to WRITING and thereby has challenged man to READ. Of 
course God coud have wired the earth for a world-wide loudspeak- 
er system to broadcast His utterances right from the Throne, but 
this would have required too little responsive effort from man. 
Or He could have delegated a "mighty angel to fly in the midst-, 
of heaven/ having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them 
that dwell on the earth," but the conditions and the time for 
that are not yet. 

Instead, He chose to communicate with man through the medium 
of a BOOK. So, whoever wants to know deeply of God*s ways and 
dealings with man, of His love and concern, of His design for 
our never-ending life* and of much else of eternal truthy must 
first of all LEARN TO READ, must STUDY to UNDERSTAND, must 
MEDITATE, must DELIBERATE, must DEBATE, must JUDGE, must DECIDE, 
and APPLY to his life and conduct that which is meant for him, 
so that he may KNOW and EXPERIENCE, and ENJOY the wonderful 
things that God has prepared for hira both here and hereafter. 
And all these verbal activities result from ma^s voluntary 
choices in the mental and spiritual process of learning. They 
have to do with the self -determining and conscious growth of 
his mind and soul* And at every step in the process God responds 
to man*s good choices by enlightening, encouraging, enabling, 
ennobling, and saving and blessing his soul. 

Think of itl God has condensed infinite truth into a book, 
which demands of man the effort of uplifted thought and the 
exercise of serious, studious intelligence. Deity has reduced 
itself to writing, so that he who would run well may first 
diligently read the rules of the raoe to glory. Marvelous 
condescension of the divine, for the eternal elevation of the 
human l Continuing his learning in heaven, the creature becomes 
like the Creator and knows as he is known. — Sword And Trumprt 

PREACHERS 

"It is a poor sermon," said Geo Whitefield, "that gives no 
offence; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself 
nor with the preacher." — Sel. 



36 . THE PILGRIM 



, MUSINGS IN ISAIAH— THE SERVANT OF THE LORD 
BY C. R. Boone 

11 It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my 
Servant to raise up the tribea of Jacob, and to restore 
the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a 
light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my -salvation 
,unto the end of the earth." Isa. U9*6* 
u -. This chapter 'marks the beginning of the second 
section' of the second part of the book of Isaiaho In 
. chapters. UO to U8 Cyrus and Babylon are in view; Cyrus 
is marked put: as God's instrument for delivering His 
people from Babylonian captivity. From chapter k9 on, 
Cyrus and Babylon disappear from the record, their 
mssion having been realized^ A new figure now appears 
on the horizon— one called the "Servant of -'"Jehovah," 
who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the long-* 
looked-rfor Messiah, coming forth out of Israels Accor- 
ding to tiiis chapter j He fulfills; the purposes of God 
'for'' both Jew and Gentile « \: 

His is not a circumscribed or limi ted ministry, but 
one that is world embracing." Notice the reach of the 
opening verse: "Listen, isles, unto me.; and hear ken^ 
ye people, from far;" and the /sixth verse closes with 
the words "the end of the earth G " 

We have a synopsis. of this chapter in three words; 

^..IDENTIFICATION. . - ; '■ : 

The opening words of the chapter is the voice of the 
Servant- of Jehovah as He witnesseth to Himself and His 
work. He says: "The Lord hath called me." The Ser- 
vant Himself is speaking. This prophecy is not that 
of the Prophet Isaiah, but, of the Divine Voice that 
speaks through -him*. The Messiah speaks in the first 
person; the prophet' is but the channel through which 
the. voice .comes to the nation. 

Some have become confused in their identification 
of this Servant because of the words, in verse 3, where 
God, addressing this One, says: "Thou art my servant, 
Israel, in whom I will be glorified." It is quite 
common for Jewish interpreters to look upon the word 



-THE PILGRIM 37 



- "servant" as referring to the nation rather than to an 
individual. That this, however, cannot possibly be. the 
full explanation, is evident for the following, reasons: 

(1) In verse 6 this One is said to bring Jacob and 
gather Israel to God. It is obvious that the Servant 
is one separate from Israel— one outside and apart from 
the people as a whole. 

(2) It is clear that this Servant of Jehovah as an 
individual, in view of the statement in verse 1 that 
He was called from the womb and from the bowels of His 
mother. It is the one "born of a woman," referred to 
in Galations U^U* "But when the fulness of time was 
come, God sent forth His Son, made (born) of a woman, 
made (born) under the lawn" - * ... 

(3) The reason why this One is called Israel in verse 
3 seems evident * * In Him, all that was best in Israel's 
life found imbcqliment. He is Israel idealized. He was 
the kernel of Judaism* All the faith and godliness of 
the fairest in Israel was epitomized in Him. Then, too, 
we must not forget that Israel was first of all one 
man's name* The nation Israel descended from the man 
Israel, and the nation bore its progenitor's name. It 
was Israel because he was Israel, and the word means 

"a prince with God " Jesus Christ was the true and 
perfect Prince with God. What Israel should have been, 
He was* This Servant of Jehovah came to take Israel's 
place, to be condemned and judged for her sins and to 
provide righteousness for those in Israel— for those 
who would embrace it. Israel will only realize the 
fulfillment of the divine purpose through this Servant 
of Jehovah. 

The ministry of this Servant is described in grip- 
ping metaphors. ..It was said of Him that His mouth 
would be as a sharp sword (verse 2). Is it not strik- 
ing that the mouth is mentioned? In other words, He 
was to be God's mouthpiece, God's spokesman, !God's 
4 prophet. It brings to mind the picture In Rev. 19, 
where He is seen coming from heaven on a, whitq horse, 
"And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with 
it He should smite the nations." In Heb. U,:12 His Word 
is likened to a two-edged sword, and in John's Gospel 



^8 THE PILGRIM; 



He is called the Word, All this is significant and :' 
meaningful. In Him God speaks out His full and comp- 
lete message to men. Heb. 1:1: "God, who at sundry 
times and in divers manners spake in time past unto 
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days 
spoken unto us by His Son." Men who listened to Him 
in the days of His flesh had this to say: "Never man 
spake like this man, " and the centuries which followed 
have not diminshed the glory and uniqueness of His 
utterances. His Word still outdistances human thought 
and utterance. 

He is also represented as a polished shaft. Such 
a. shaft is without rust or corrosion^ It is burnished 
and bright. There was no corruption or sin in this 
Servant. In this respect He stands out solitary and 
alone among the sons of man* Thus, He was a most fit- 
ting and timely instrument of God— one whom God could 
use to the full. Thus, the identity of this Servant 
of Jehovah ,becomes clear and unmistakable. 

II. FRUSTRATION. 

/ In view of the character and perfection of this 
Servant, we are almost startled to read the words in 
verse U: "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my 
strength for nought, and in vain:. „ ," It is the 
'cqnfession of seeming failure. Why should words like 
these fall from this Servant's lips? The answer is 
not far to seeko 

(1) Men and women are born with freedom of choice; 
they are created free moral beings. They can turn 
down the best and accept the worst. They are not even 
compelled to choose the good and the right. ' They may 
expouse sin as well as righteousness, and even the Son 
of God must abide by their decision. He who came to 
bless and to save must witness the foolish decisions 
of those who prefer the destruction and disaster which 
their sins inevitably bring. 

(2) This seeming failure is a matter of history. 
In John 1:11 we are told, "He came unto His own, and 
His own received Him not." He came as their true 
Messiah and King. What happened? They said, "We will" 



THE PILGRIM £2 



not have this man to reign over us," They turned Him ; 
down and cast. Him out of their vineyard., Although He '. 
did among them things which only God could do, present- 
ing the very credentials of Deity, they steadfastly 
rejected Him. This word, M I h&ve laboured in vain, I 
have spent my strength for nought, arid in vain:" is in 
prophetic anticipation of His rejection. 

(3) Looking at His incarnation from another angle, 
at the end of those thirty- three wonderful years there 
was just a handful of disciples— just one hundred. and 
twenty— in the upper room immediately prior to the ad- 
vent of the Spirit. Anyone attempting to predict the 
future of this movement on the basis of early statis- 
tics would certainly not have been optimistic., The 
early days of the Christian enterprise were days of con- 
flict and persecution. Christians were arrested and * 
put to death: they left behind them a bloody trail,; yet 
those early years were marked by glorious .triumph and 
conquest. 

(k) But this apparent failure is not the end of the 
story. Let us read the rest of the verse, for failure 
does not bring us to a period, but only to a colon. 
Beyond that are these words: "yet surely my judgment is 
with the Lord, and my work (recompense) with my God." 
In spite of seeming failure, the Servant of Jehovah, 
looking ahead, sees the recompense of divine justice* 
While from some angles all seemed vain, yet there shines 
out of apparent defeat a gleam of hope and the certain*- 
by of recompense. 

Such is the plan for this Servant according to 
Isaiah 53:10, 11: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise 
Himj He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make 
His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, 
He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord 
shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail 
of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge 
shall my rightious Servant justify many; for He shall 
bear their iniquities." Failure. can never be the ulti- 
mate word concerning the work of the Son of God. If 
you would have the final picture as God gives it to us, 
let the last three chapters in the Bible breathe their 



UO THE PILGRIM 



message of triumph into your heart. They* may be read 
in the light of any temporary failure or defeat, for 
they are as certain of fulfillment as God's throne and 
sovereignity are certain. Thus, in the midst of sin 
and failure, the Servant of Jehovah looks to ultimate 
vindication. He knows it will come. 

III. CONSUMMATION.' 

This word leads us to the text* Up to this point 
everything is introductory. In the text it is no long- 
er the Servant speaking, but God Himself speaking to 
His Servant and about His Servant. He says, "It is a 
light thing that thou shouldest be my Servant to raise 
up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of 
Israel. 11 'Yes, the preservation and restoration of 
Israel is but a little thing in the light of His ex- 
panding world-wide purpose*, He will be also for a 
light to the Gentiles, and His salvation shall take in 
the ends of the earth Q Thus is voiced the two-fold 
purpose of God in the ministry of His Servant, who is - 
His polished shaft. 

(1) He will bring Jacob to God (verse 5); not merely 
those of a few tribes, but the entire posterity of 
Jacob. It is worth our while to note the word H pre- 
served ,! There is a world of truth in it. The Old 
Teatament prophets made clear the fact that only a 
small remnant of the nation shall finally be redeemed 
and exalted The two closing chapters of Isaiah more 
fully discuss this phase of the matter. In Rom, 11 
we are told that all Israel shall be saved, which does 
not and cannot mean every Israelite m The great mass 
are unbelievers and will be dealt with as such by God. 
You may trace the entire history of God*s cause in the 
earth, and, whether it be in the days of deliverance 
from Egypt, or in the days of the Judges, or in the 
days of Elijah, or the days of Christ Himself, it was 
through a remnant that the true faith was perpetuated 
in the earth. (See ttonu- 9*6-8 j 11:1-5.) The unbelief 
of many can never destroy the faith. of a few. God left 
Himself a witness in every age. 

While God purposes to bring back to Himself, through 



THE PILGRIM Ul ~ 



this Servant, the preserved of Israel— those who through 
faith are left for the kingdom— it is instructive to 
note how the people themselves talk* "But Zion said, 
•The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten 
me. 1 " This is the way the people felt. As Zion was 
crushed beneath the feet of foreign conquerors, it . 
seemed as if God had given her up completely. This is 
the conclusion of the natural heart, and there is much 
evidence that seemed to point in that direction. 

Failing to realize the outworking of their own sins 
and unfaithfulness, they see only one side— "God has 
forgotten." But hear God's answer to Zion* s cry in 
verses 1$ and 16: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, 
that she should not have compassion on the son of her 
womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; 
thy walls are continually before me." In other words, 
can God, who brought this people to birth and gave them 
all the glory they ever knew, planting them in an in- 
heritance of nis own providing, and dwelling in their 
midst for many years x)f their history— can this God 
give them up completely and forever? In verses l£ and 
16 God lays bare His heart. He gets no joy out of the 
their sufferings and their scattering. These are 
result of their unbelief and disobedience. It was not 
what God wanted^ but God must chastise and punish sin, 
even in His own. But, lest they misunderstand His 
feelings or purpose, He speaks to them through His 
prophets that they might know His mind. 

It is quite natural for those who suffer, because of 
their sins to doubt God's love. We are more lenient 
toward our sins -than we are toward God l s grace. We 
give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Suppose we 
change that and give God the benefit, Paul raises the 
question in Rom. 11, '-'Hath God cast away His people?" 
That is, has He cast them off finally and forever? Is 
He through with them? He no sooner raises the question 
than he cries out, "God forbid," and then proceeds to 
explain the divine purpose and program. Yes, this 
Servant will raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore 
the preserved of Israel." 



U2 THE PILGRIM 



(2) Bringing the descendents of Jacob back to God, 
however, is just a part of the work of this Servant of 
Jehovah. His ministry goes far beyond this one race* 
He will be a light to the Gentiles, and salvation to 
the end of the earth. Do we get the force of this 
declaration? Jesus Christ is God's salvation, not only 
for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. 

All the, salvation God has for anyone in this world 
centers in the Son of His love. We are all familiar 
with the n Gospel in a nut sh ell "~~ "For God so loved the 
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever- 
las^ing life." Here we have the Bible in epitome. God's 
„ love is world-embracing, and His provision takes in 
every member of our sinning race. But let us get it 
straight-.- this Gospel centers always and only in the 
Son of God a There is no salvation for Jew or Gentile 
apart from Him, and because the Maker of the world gave 
His Son to provide redemption for all who would come to 
Him, we. have the commission, "Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." 

Tod&y the Bible has been translated into over a 
thousand languages and dialects. We are familiar with 
the hymn, "Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great 
Redeemer's praise »" Well, a thousand tongues have the 
praise of this great Redeemer in their own languages. 

In this age God is forming the Church as His instru- 
ment for spreading the Gospel. This institution began 
with three thousand Jewish believers oh the Day of Pen- 
tecost, and has spread to every nation under heaven. 
The book of Acts gives us the story of the first thirty 
years of progress of the Christian faith in the earth— 
from Jerusalem to Rome. It was because of the contin- 
uing and expanding triumph of the Gospel of Christ's 
redeeming love that Paul could write: "For I am not 
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of 
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the 
Jew first, and also to the Greek." Yes, it is "whoso- 
ever" believeth. 

Because Christ, has been for centuries a light to the 

(Continued on page I4.6) 



THE PILGRIM U3 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION 
(Condenced from the lectures of C. G. Finney-, 18U8) } : 
~ WHEREIN SAINTS AND SINNERS MUST DIFFER. (Continued from Jan;.) 

8# The sinner is never a reformer in any proper sense of the^ 
word* He is selfish and never opposed to sin, or to any evil •.., 
whatever, from any such motive as renders him worthy the name. ,.. 
of reformer* He sometimes selfishly advocates and pushes oerr» 
certain outward reforms; but as certain as it is. that he |s an 
unregenerate sinner, so certain is it, that he is not endeavor- 
ing to reform sin out of the world from any disinterested love 
to God or to man a Many considerations of a selfish nature may 
engage him at times in certain branches of reform^ Regard to 
his reputation may excite his zeal in such an enterprise* Self- 
righteous considerations may also lead him to enlist in the 
army of reformers His relation to particular forms of vice 
may influence him to set his face against them. Constitutional 
temperament and tendencies may lead to his engaging in certain 
reforms * For example, his constitutional benevolence, as phren- 
ologists call it, may be. such that from natural compassion he 
may engage in reforms* But this is only giving way to an im- 
pulse of the sensibility, and it is not principle that governs ' 
him* His natural conscientiousness may modify his outward 
character, and lead him to take hold of some branches of re— 
form* But whatever other motives he may have, sure it is that 
he' is not a reformer; for he is a sinner, and it is absurd to 
say that a sinner is truly engaged in opposing sin as sin* 
No, it is not sin that he is opposing, but he is seeking to 
gratify an ambitious,* a self-righteous, or some qther spirit, 
the' gratification of which is selfishness*. 

But as a general thing, it is easy to distinguish sinners, 
or deceived professors from saints by looking steadfastly at 
their temper and deportment in their relations to reform* They, 
are self-indulgent, and just for the reason that they are devot- 
ed to self-indulgence* Sometimes their self-indulgent spirit 
takes on one type, and sometimes another** Of course they, need 
not be expected to ridicule or oppose every branch of reform, 
just because it is not every reformer that will rebuke their 
favorite indulgences, and call them to reform their lives* 
But as every sinner has one or more particular form of indul- 
gence to which he is wedded, and as saints are devising and' 
pushing reforms in all dirept ions, it is natural that some sin- 
ners should manifest particular hostility to. one reform, and 
some to another* Whenever a reform is proposed that would re- 
form them out of their favorite indulgences, they will either 
ridicule it, and those that propose it, or storm and rail, or 
in some way oppose or wholly neglect it» Not so, and so it 
oannot be, with a true saint* He has no indulgence that he 
values when put in competition with the good of being* Nay* 
he holds his all and his life at the disposal of the highest 
good* Has he, in ignorance of the evils growing out of his 
course, used ardent sporits, wine, tobacco, ale, or porter? 



kk THE PILGRIM 



Has he held slaves; been engaged in any traffic that is found 
to be injurious; has he favored war through ignorance; or, in 
short, has he committed any mistake whatever? Let but a reforn>- 
er come forth and propose to discuss the tendency of such 
things; let the reformer bring forth his strong reasons; and, 
from the very nature of. true religion, the saint mil listen 
with attention, weigh with candor, and suffer himself to be 
carried by truth, heart, and hand, and influence with the por- 
posed reform, if it be worthy of support, how much soever it 
conflict with his former habit s* This must be true, if he has 
a single eye to the good of being, which is the very character- 
istic of a saint. 

9* The true saint denies himself • Self— denial must be his 
characteristic just for the reason that regeneration implies 
this* Regeneration, as we have seen consists in turning away 
the heart or will from the supreme choice of self -gratification, 
to a choice of the highest well— being of God and of the universe. 
This is denying self o This is abandoning self-indulgence, and 
pursuing or committing the mil, and the whole being to an 
opposite end. This is the dethroning of self, and the enthron- 
ing of God in the hearts Self-denial does not consist, as some 
seem to imagine, in acts of outward austerity, in an ascetic 
and penance-doing course of starvation, and mere legal and out- 
ward retrenchment, in wearing a coat with one button, and in 
similaracts of "will worship and voluntary humility, and neg- 
lecting the body;" but self-denial consists in the actual and 
total renunciation of selfishness in the heart. It consists in 
ceasing wholly to live for self, and can he exercised just as 
truly upon a throne, surrounded with the paraphernalia of royal- 
ty, as in a cottage of logs, or as in rags, and in caves and 
dens of the earth • 

The king upon his throne may live and reign to please him- 
self. He may surround himself with all that can minister to his 
pleasure, his ambition, his pride, his lusts, and his power* 
He may live to and for-himself. Self-pleasing, self-gratifica- 
tion, self -aggrandisement, may be the end for which he lives* 
This is selfishness a But he may also live and reign for God, 
and -for his people* That is, he may be as really devoted to 
God, and render this as a service to' God, as well as anything 
else* No doubt his temptation is great; but, nevertheless, he 
may be perfectly self-denying, in all this. He may not do what 
he does for his own sake, nor be what he is, nor possess what 
he possesses for his own sake, but, accommodating his state and 
equipage to his relations, he may be as truly self-denying as 
others in the humbler walks of life* This is not an impossible, 
though , in all probability, a rare case. A man may as truly 
be rich for God as poor for him, if his relations and circum- 
stances make it essential to his highest usefulness that he 
should possess a large capital* He is in the way of great temp- 
tation; but if this is plainly his duty, and submitted to for 
God and the world, he may have grace to be entirely self-denying 
in these circumstances, and all the more commendable, for stand- 



r 



THE . PILGRIM hB 



ing fast under these circumstances. 

So a poor man may T>e poor from principle, or. from necessity* 
Re may be submissive and happy in his poverty, fie may tfjeny. ., 
himself even the comforts of life, and do all this t p. promote. ^the 
good, of being, or he may do it to promote his own interest, r .n 
temporal or eternal, to secure a reputation for piety, to . - 
appease a morbid conscience, to appease his fears, or. to secure 
the favor of God. In all things he may be selfish« Be may be 
happy in this, because it may be real self— denial: or he may' be 
murmuring at his poverty, may complain, and be envipus at others 
who are not pooro He may be censorious, and think everybody.. • 
proud and £ elfish "who dresses better, or possesses a better 
house and equipage then he does • He may set up hie views as a 
standard, and denounce as proud and selfish all who do not square 
their lives by his rule* This is selfishness, and these raaiii-T 
festations demonstrate the fact. A man may forego the use of, .'a 
coat, or a cloak, or a horse, or a carriage^ or any and every- 1 
comfort and convenience of life, and all this may proceed from 
either a benevolent or a selfish state of mind* If it be bene— 
bolence and true self— denial, it vri.ll be cheerfully and happily 
.submitted to, without murmuring and repining, without censor-' 
iousness, and without envyt awards others, without insisting that 
others shall do and be, just what he does and is. He will allow 
the judge his ermine, the Icing his robes of state, and the 
merchant his capital, and the husbandman his fields and his 
flocks, and will see the reasonableness and propriety of all this. 

But if it be selfishness and the spirit of self-gratification 
instead of self-denial, he will be ascetic, caustio, sour, 111—* 
natured, unhappy, severe, censorious, envious, and disposed to 
complain of, and pick at, the extravagance and self-indulgence . 
of others. . .. 

Especially does the true saint deny his appetites and pass- 
ions. His artificial appetites he denies absolutely, whenever 
his attention is called to the fact and the nature of the indul- 
gence. The Christian is such just because he has become the., 
master of his appetites and passions, has denied them, and con- 
secrated himself, to God. T,he sinner is a sinner just because " ^ 
his appetites and passions and the impulses of his desires are .v 
his masters, and he bows down to them, and serves them. They 
are his masters instead of his servants, as they are made to be, 
He is consecrated to them and not to God. But the saint has V 
ceased to live to gratify his lusts. Has he been a drunkard,- a 
rake, a tobacco user? Has he been in self-indulgent habits of 
any kind? He is reformed; old things are past away, and behold 
all things are become new. Has he still any habit the character 
of which he has either mistaken or not considered; such as smok- 
ing, chewing, or snuffing tobacco, using injurious stimulants of 
any kind, high and unwholesome living, extravagant dressing or 
equipage, retiring late at night and rising late in the morning, 
eating too much, or between meals, or in short, has there been 
any form of self-indulgence about him whatever? Only let his 



I4.6. ; THE PILGRIM 



attention be called to it, he will listen with candor, be con 5 - 
vinced by reasonable evidence," and renounce his evil habits 
without conferring with flesh and blood* All this is implied 
in- regeneration, and must follow from its very nature* This 
also the Bible everywhere affirms to be true of the saints* 
"They have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts." 
It should be forever remembered, that a self— indulgent Christ- 
ian is a contradiction* Self— indulgence and Christianity are 
terms of opposition* 

10. The sinner does not deny himself* He may not gratify all 
his desires, because the desires are often contradictory, and he. 
must deny one for the sake of indulging another* Avarice may 
be so strong as to forbid his inlulging in extravagance in eat- 
ing, drinking, dressing, or equipage* His love of reputation 
may be so strong as to prevent his engaging in anything dis- 
graceful, and so on* But self— indulgence is his law nowwith— 
standing* The fear of hell, or his desire to be saved, may 
forbid his outward indulgence in any known sin* But still he 
lives, and moves, and has his being only for the sake of indul- 
ging himself • He may be a miser, and starve and freeze himself * 
and deny himself the necessaries of life; yet self-indulgence 
is his law* Some lusts he may and must control, as they may be 
inconsistent with others o But others he does not control* He 
is a slave* He bows down to his lusts and serves them* He is 
enslaved by his propensities, so that he cannot overcome them* 
This demonstrates that he is a sinner and unregenerate, what— 
•ever his station and profession may be Q One who cannot, because 
he will not, conquer himself and his lusts— this is the defini- 
tion of an unregenerate sinner* He is one over whom some form 
of desire, or lust, or appetite, or passion has dominion* He 
cannot, or rather will not, overcome it This one is just as 
certainly in sin, as that sin is sin« (To be continued) 

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD 
(Continued from page 1^2) 
Gentiles and salvation to the end of the earth, the 
good news has reached us here in America— who are thou- 
sands of miles from where Jesus lived and died* Today 
the word for folks the world around is, "Whosoever shall 
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved*" Rom. 10: 
13. Have you seen this light? Has this mighty Servant 
of Jehovah brought salvation to you and to your house? 
Yes, verily, "Now is the accepted time) behold, now is 
the day of salvation* « The feast is now ready. Salva- 
tion has been fully provided by the Servant of Jehovah, 
th~e Lord Jesus* Receive it I Receive itl Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy 
house*" Why not do it now? — Quinter, Kansas 

By permission of author 



THE PILGRIM hi 



THE HAPPIEST WAY 

There is so much to know, so little time 

to learn; . 
So many corners on life's roadj one 

wonders which to turn, ' .' 
This one may lead to pleasure gay* and 

this to wisdom true, 
And this, if we would follow it, might lead 

to friendships new; 
Yet none can ever tread them all, nor 

drain life*s cup of bliss- 
Chance leads us to the joys we find and 

past the joys we miss* 

We know that some paths lead to shame, 

and some to grief and woe* 
But there are byways here and there, 

whose ends we* 11 never knowj 
And there are roads we'd like to tread, 

yet duty spurs us on, 
And there are goals we'd like to reach, 

yet .we must strive for one* 
Not all of life is ours to know, not all its. 

work we do . 
The race of men to corae shall learn some 

truths we never knew. 

At best we blindly rush along, in haste 

we love- to spurn, 
&n& what we miss another claims and 

misses in his turn* 
There is so much for man to know, so 

little time to choose, 
For ovevy joy we win from life we pay with . 

joys we lose. 
No one ox mortal clay has solved the 

secret of life's plan, 
The happiest way is for us all to do the 

best we can* 



l±8 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
-JOHN- 

This book of the gospel was recorded by Saint John, 
the disciple who was perhaps closer to Jesus then any 
other. He is called "that disciple whom Jesus loved." 
It is written in a way that makes it some of the deep- 
est and most revealing reading of the whole Bible, John 
was one who could give a first hand report of the minis- 
try of Christ. He could sayj "I was there • I saw the 
prophecies concerning Christ fulfilled." He records 
his reason for writing this book in chapter 20 verse 31 • 
"But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus 
is the Christ, the Son of Godj and that believing ye 
might have life through his name. 

In this account it is interesting to notice the 
direct statements Jesus made about himself. A few of 
them are: ."I that speak unto thee am he" (the Messiah), 
"I am the bread of life", "Before Abraham was, I am", 
"I am the light of the world", "I aiu the door of the 
sheep", "I am the good shepherd", "I am the Son of God", 
"I and my Father are one", "I am the resurrection, and 
the life", "Ye call me Piaster and Lord: and ye say well; 
for so I am", "I am the truth and the life" "I am. 
the true vine." 

This book tells in such a wonderful way, God's love 
to humanity demonstrated in the life and work of Jesus 
Christ. Soneone has noticed that in each of the chap- 
ters, Christ is portrayed in some special way different 
from the rest. Taken as a whole, the book gives us a 
vivid picture of our redeemer and his soul-saving work. 
Certainly, reading this book should cause anyone to 
"believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." 

QUESTIONS: 

1. Who anointed Jesus for his burying? 

2. Whom did Jesus call, "An Israelite, indeed in 

whom is no guile?" 

3. Who said, "Let us also go, that we may die with 

him"? 

— Leslie Cover, Sonora, Calif. 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL, 6 I URCH , 19 $9 NO. j 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul/ 1 Peter 2:11 



"THE POOR AMONG MEN SHALL REJOICE 
IN THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL*.* Isa. 29*19. 

Rejoice and be glad. 
The Redeemer has oome, 
Go look cm His cradle, His cross 
and His tomb* 

Rejoice and be glad. It is sunshine 

at last, 
The clouds have departed, the shadows 

are past* 

Rejoice and be glad, For the blotd has 

been shed, 
Redemption is finished, The price has 

been paid* 

Rejoice and be glad,, For the pardon 
is free, 
The Just for the unjust has died on 
the tree* 

Rejoice and be glad, For the Lamb that 

was slain, 
Q^r death is triumphant and Hveth 

again* 

Rejoice and be glad, For our Zing is 

on high, 
He pleadeth for us, on His throne in 

the sky* 

Rejoice and be glad, For He ooraeth 

again; 
He cometh in glory, the Lamb that was 

slain* 

Chorus: Sound His praises, Tell the story 
Of Him -who was slain, 
Sound His praises, tell with gladness 
He cometh again* 

— Selected by J. I. Cover 



$0 THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM is a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate; $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif, 



"But Now is CHRIST RISEN FROM THE DEAD, and 
become the Flrstflruita of Them that Slept. " 

The winter is parsing and Springtime i£ at hand. 
All nature is teeming and bursting forth with new lif e* 
Only a few months ago all seemed to be dying and be- 
coming inactive* The fields were turning brown, the 
leaves were falling from the trees, the little crea- 
tures of wooda and meadows seemed to understand and be 
making preparation for a change. Birds winged their 
way to the Southlands where there is warmth and sun- 
shine. Winter settled down With its ice and cold and 
stillness th&V seemed ominous. People were going 
about in quietness to .maintain and preserve what had 
been gained in the past active summer. The winter 
advanced .and .all seemed to come to a standstill. But 
suddenly there is a change, there is a new warmth in 
the sunshine, the great white snow blanket that covered 
the earth is disappearing! there are signs of new life; 
little tender green blades of grass are beginning to 
appear. The birds that -flew quietly away a few months 
ago are returning and they are beginning to sing. 
All the little creatures that went hiding into their 
winter houseb are coming forth again, and will soon 
have new coats and colors. . There is new hope. Life 
has begun anew. 

Many thousands of times since the beginning of the 
world, this mysterious' cycle has been repeated. Spring- 
time, vision, and hope,- love and.-beauty and song, sow- 
ing and prospects and preparation for future. Summer 
and' labor and warmth and growth. Autumn and maturity 
and harvest and gathering. Winter and cold and still- 
ness and inactivity, and the season has completed its 
round.' The Almighty has given mankind a sign, the 
rainbow in the cloud, for an everlasting covenant with 
them that while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, 



THE PILGRIM £l 



and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and 
night shall not cease. 

In the beginning God .created the heavens and' the 
earth, and the earth was void and darkness was upon the 
face of the deep— Winter, Then came the Springtime of 
the earth* God began to fill the earth with life and 
beauty and inhabitants and he formed Adam from the 
ground and breathed into him the breath of life, and 
he became a living soul, the crown of glory to the 
creative impulse and act; forasmuch as man is the image 
and glory of God f And from his side he made a beauti- 
ful woman who was the glory of the man which God creat- 
ed. No doubt they were perfect: emotionally, intellec- 
tually and physically. The world with its fullness 
$nd its beauty and its future was before them, what 
a springtime of life. They had the power to enjoy it 
to the fullest, because they were innocent. They fail- 
ed to grasp the opportunity, and through deception, 
tragedy befell their lives and they lost their home 
and their happiness and their children, and the man 
had to till the ground- in sorrow and eat bread in the 
sweat of his face* Eve must bring forth her children 
in sorrow who must live in enmity, and in the end, 
death. There were promises of redemptuon, but tragedy 
and sorrow and death followed their posterity down 
through the ages and terrorized and enslaved themfor. 
about four thousand years. But one day*- the long prom- 
ised and looked for day— one night the silence was 
broken and the gloom and the shadow and the fears -were 
dispelled by heavenly voices announcing the birth of. 
the Redeemer, u The people that sat in darkness saw a 
great light and to them that sat in the region and : * 
shadow of death, new light is sprung up." "To you is 
.born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is 
Christ the Lord." New hope; a new way to God; a new 
life. Faithful men followed his call and became his 
servants and loved Him and hoped and trusted him, ex- 
pecting him to r estore the kingdom of David and its 
former glory. But how mistaken they were. The decreed 
enmity was too great and his enemies slew him and hang- 
ed him on a cross till he was dead. He was taken down 



£2 THE PILGRIM 



and buried and the tomb was sealed and watched by sold- 
iers. Three days of silence, days of sorrow and disa- 
ppointment and gloom to all' who loved him— winter days. 
Then came the glorious triumphant climactic event of all 
ages* The dead comes to life again. The pains of death 
are loosed j the seal is broken. The earth shakes j the 
door of the tomb swings open wide. The soldiers become 
like dead. men. Angels are in attendance and proclaim 
those glorious, victorious words: "He is not herej He 
is RISEN; corae see the place where he lay. 11 Death and 
hell are conquered. Satan has received a fatal stroke. 
Death has lost his sting and fear. Love has triumphed 
over hatred; good over evil. Jesus who was dead is* 
alive f ore vermor e and has the keys of death and hell . 
Hear the mighty proclamation of the victor: "ALL PCMER 

• IS GIVEN ME, IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH; go ye therefore and 
teaqh alienations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Qhostj teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world.". 

Forty days was the risen Lord with his disciples on 
earth, and then In their presence and view he ascended 
to heaven in a cloud. The apostles began the gr&at 
evangelical work of preaching the gospel of their risen 

. Lord. The key note and essence of all their sermons 
was that God has raised him up from the dead, and we are 
witnesses of his resurrection. The citadels of heath- 
enism and idolatry could not stand before the assaults 
and persuasions of so powerful a witness. Death was 
only an incident in this new life. The apostle says, 
"That I might know him and the POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION 
and the fellowship of his suffering, being made confor- 
mable unto his death if by any means I might attain 
unto the resurrection of the dead"j and Rom. 1:3, it:, 
■^Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was ' 
made of .the seed of David according to the flesh ; AND 
DECLARED TO BE THE SON OF GOD WITH POWER, ACCORDING TO 

. THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS, BY THE RESURRECTION FROM THE 
DEAD. " 

The power of the resurrection is the power of God. 



THE PILGRIM j£ 

The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power 
that will call to life all them that are asleep in 
Jesus when he shall appear in glory, Jesus says, "For 
as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, 
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will," "I am the 
resurrection and the life." 

"Behold, I. stand at the door and knock $ if any man 
hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, 
and will, sup with him and he with me. To him that 
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 
even as I overcame and am set down with my Father in 
his throne. "~~b. F. W. 

Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious, 

See the man of sorrows now, 
From the fight returned victorious, 

Every knee to him shall bow. 
Crown him, crown him, 
Crowns become the victor "s brow. 

.Crown the Saviour, angels crown him, 

Rich the trophies Jesus brings, 
In the seat of power enthrone him, 

While the heavenly concave rings. 
Crown him, crown him. 
Crown the Saviour, King of kings. 

NOW 
Perhaps there is now a "shy, solitary serious 
thought," in your heart about becoming a Christian. , 
If you let it alone it may fly away like a bird through 
a cage door left open and may never come back. Or else 
a crowd of business cares or plans, or perhaps a host 
of social invitations will flock in, and the good 
thought be smothered to death. You have smothered just 
such blessed thoughts before.. The thought in your heart 
is to become a Christian now, and the great bells ring 
out, "Now is the accepted time j behold, now is the day 
of salvation." No soul was ever yet saved, and no good 
deed was. ever done tomorrow." —Selected. 



$k g ..,.::- . THE PILGRIM 



/. TURNING FROM GQD . 
i ■:■ ..' . ^ . ~By J» !• Cover 

w "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if 
they escaped ndt who refused him that spake on earth, 
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from 
him that speaketh from heaven!? Heb. 12:25>. * Every step 
ihade upon the broadway* that leadeth to destruction is 
turning farther dway from God. We cannot lead a pass-* 
ive, neutral, life entirely. We cannot entirely do as 
we please for we are servants "of sin unto death or 11 
"of obedience unto righteousness; M though Satan would 
have us believe we can be independant and live as we 
please. We can begin to turn away from God through 
our senses. 

1. Seeing or beholding conditions of evil, that 
appeal to the lust of the eyes and in this may pervert 
even the very things God has made good and for good 
uses. 

2. Hearing. How much that we hear is immoral, de- 
basing and corrupt, even though we may not desire or 
enjoy to hear; but to take secret or open sttisf action 
to hearing evil communication of any nature, there is 
gradually seeping into the carnal mind that is corrupt 
this evil flow of metal filth that but causes a growth 
in the minds* of evil that is more serious than cancer 
of the body: so feeding the lustof the flesh. 

3» Feeling. This goes deep into our natures. By 
taking into our being the conteraptable things, the mind 
of ifian becomes activated to evil thoughts, !Bvil sensa- 
tions and desires well up like water behind a dam until 
the forc§ of evil breaks out in our 

km Speaking. "Out of the abundance of the heart, 
the mouth speaketh. 11 Matt. 12:3l4. In turning from God 
to. evil ways: having, delight in seeing, hearing, and 
.apeaking evil, then broadcasting to all who hear, they 
then have this evil influence to accept or reject. 

: 5. Actings This covers besides our speaking all our 
actions, that is the fruit of an evil heart. Jesus says 
"But those things which prpceed out of the mouth, come 
forth from the heart, and they defile the manj For out 



THE PILGRIM 55 



of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 
fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies j 
these are the things which defile a man. Matt* 15>;l8, 
19,20. This flow of evil from the defiled heart of 
man besides being manifest in conversation, influences 
the actions of man to full demonstration of the result 
of the lust of the flesh, the lust of they eyes, and 
the pride of life: which pride is on a high plane of 
sin wherein moral virtue may be mixed; self esteem is 
evident accompanied by arrogance and vanity. All this 
is turning from God, facing the broad downward way, 
following the phantom of sinful pleasures that vanishes, 
and reappears again and again as a decoy on and on -the 
mirage of sin lures away and away from the light of 
love, glory, and virtue; seeking to hide away from the 
presence of God, 

And would I turn away 

From God my friend; 
To wander far astray. 

Unto the end? 

Would I shun in dismay, 

The shining light} 
And in my soul portray, 
Black evil night? 

Would I by fault incur, 

Evil for good, 
Could I at all prefer, 

Poison to food? 

Could I at ease disdain, 

To climb to light; 
And careless drift- amain, 

Slip down from sight? 

Could I at will forsake 

Life, joy, and peace; 
Could I instead partake, 

Of death and cease? 

let me turn away, 

From evil ways; 
While it is called today* 

Give God the praise* 

— Star Route Box 1160, Sonora, Calif* ■ 
NEXT; FAITH TOWARDS GOD* 



£6 .. - . ' THE PILGRIM 



HBELOVED, NOW ARE WE THE SONS OF GOD." 
By Elder John /Kline 

In my view, there is no passage in the Bible which 
requires a stronger faith to believe it fully than the 
one just quoted* No passage that I know of sets forth 
in such" lofty terms of description the exaltation and 
glory of the redeemed*. Often have I heard persons ex- 
press their wonder that Jesus did not tell us more 
about heaven and the future state* This text itself 
tells us infinitely more about this than 'we are capable 
of comprehending. Let us think a little. ■ 

I. It tells us that we are NOW the SONS OF GOD. To 
be the son of a RICH MAN is esteemed a great boon; to 
be the son of a king .is an honor and fortune enjoyed 
by few. But what are favors like these compared with 
being a son of GodI No, wonder John says in another 
place: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath 
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of 
Godi n Take the words of my text all to yourself, my 
brother, my sister; believe it; love it; and ever re- 
joice in the light of it*. You desire to know how you 
attained to this high distinction. I will tell you. 
Jesus came to you in his blessed Word with the assur- 
ance that "as many as,' receive him, to them gives he 
power to become '.the sons of God, even to them that be- 
lieve on his name; which are born, not of blood; nor 
of the will of the flesh; nor of the will of man; but 
of Gos," 

"This promise ever shall endure, 
Till suns shall rise and set no more." 

You received the Lord by 'believing on his name. This 
is faith. You believed with your heart; that is, your 
faith was full of love, and your love was attended and 
follpwed by obedience, and this made your faith com- 
plete. It is ypuirs now .to rejoice- in hope of the glory 
of God. 

II. But you can hardly believe that you are to be 
just like Christ, On the mount you saw him glorified. 
"His face did shine as the sun, and his outward form 



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was white as the light." Now Paul says: "He* shall 
change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like 
unto the body of his glory." "Then shall the righteous 
shine as the sun in the kingdom of" their Father." 

brethren, let us look at the BRIGHT side of the 
Christian's life, for it has a bright side, and that 
is the side next to heaven, on which the light of 
heaven forever falls. I am not unmindful of the fact 
that, figuratively speaking, one side is turned to 
earth, and the earth in many respects is a very dark 
place. On the earth-side "clouds and darkness are the 
habitation of his throne;" but on the heaven-side "the 
city hath no need of the sun to shine. in it, for the 
Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof; and there ' 
shall be no night there." "We are fellow-citizens "With 
the sainst (in glory), and of the household of God." 
Oh, brethren, let us walk worthy of our high calling. 
"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything 
give thanks t for this is the will of God concerning you 
you."— Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, 1835. 

THE : CASE AGAINST THE MOVIES 
By Norman Landis Loux 

My topic is of necessity a part of the whole subject 
of Christian recreation. It is an effort to show why 
a number of religious bodies have decided against the 
modern movie as a form of recreation for their members. 
To be more specific, it is an effort to show why you 
and I as individual Christians cannot patronize the 
modern movie theater as a form of recreation. 

In the first place, I want to say that the conclus- 
ions that I have reached in this discussion are baaed 
on my own personal experience with the movie, having 
attended the movie regularly for a period of time prior 
to my becoming a Christian; and, secondly, my conclu- . 
sions are based on the studies of leading educators 
and theologians. « . 

Tfhe movie gives people the wrong outlook on life, 
first of all as related to things sacred. As you all 
know, the favorite theme of the movie is loVe. How- 



58 THE PILGRIM 



ever, we can plainly see that the "love" of the Movies 
is not normal, wholesome, and godly, like that of a 
good man for his wife* Rather what is shown on the 
screen for love is simply sex passion, With no reserve, 
no modesty, and < no thought of its being anything 
sacred* 

For the Christian, love is something to be regarded 
as clean, pure, and beautiful* The movie has trans- 
formed it into mere animalism and inflaming sex desire* 
As one author has well said, "The love that is portray- 
ed ;ln the movie is an unholy thing, unnatural, arid un- 
godly, and the exhibition of it before the eyes and 
minds .of young people is a curse beyond human measure- 
ment. 11 Love-is not something that is to be played 
with, to be dealt with lightly— but must rather be re- 
garded as a divine instinct to meet a definite need in 
the lives of human beings. The need is not that 1 of 
selfish gratification of sex impulses/ 
,. ilhe movie gives people the wrong outlook on life, 
secondly,, as related to marriage and the establishment 
of the, home. ••. You may- think it strange, but I am posi- 
tive in stating that marriage' and the establishment of 
a home are two of the most pleasant things a young man 
or woman can look forward to in their entire life- 
time. Marriage and home-life occupy a very important 
part iri the life of any person.^ Success in life quite 
frequently hinges on the success or failure of one's 
married life. It is highly important, therefore, that 
we' have ' the proper conception of the institution of 
marriage and of family relations in order .that we may 
lay the proper foundations for a successful married 
life. I do not think that I am saying too much when 
I say that regular movie attendance helps to lay^ one 
of the poorest foundations that "can be laid for a 
successful married life. Sandburg says/that marriage 
is a padlock. I; choose not to look at it as such, but , 
in 'a sense tha*t is truej the only key to the lock, being 
the death tit either one of the contracting parties. 
The average nvpvie star regards marriage as a bond which 
is tied with jp; very* poor 'grade of string,, which can be, 
broken at will/ What would you expect people like this 



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mm* mmmmm i —m m ■ ■ ■hi.hi i mi^"""— ■■ » ■■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ i . i n i ipi i n Cd > 



to teach regarding marriage? Certainly you would not 
expect. them, to condemn divorce. Rather you would expect 
them to ^ endorse it wholeheartedly, and that is what 
they have donej they have destroyed everything sacred 
about marriage and have made it merely a convenience. 
The result, that such a philosophy has on those who are 
in contact with it from time to time is obvious. 

The movie gives people the wrong outlook on life, 
thirdly, as related to sin, Sin has always been blapk' 
and will always remain black. The only thing that. c#n 
■change the color of sin is the blood of Ghrist. "Per^ 
sons and actions deserving of the most severe; condem- 
nation have been pictured in the movie, as honorable; and 
commendable. The most vicious and desperate criminals 
have been pictured as. heroes. The vulgar morons an^i - 
cold-blooded murderers who are the gang leaders are _ 
shown as statesmen. Bootleggers, highjackers, and other 
kinds of criminals are pictured as businessmen. Drink- 
ing and drunken brawls are shown as respectable social 
affairs." ,'.-•■: 

May I quote further, "Not only are the themes of the 
movies bad, but the conclusions the pictures draw are 
bad. The American films are not only about wickedness, 
but they favor wickedness. They not only show nudeness 
but they show it as desirable, show it as if it were 
decent! They not only show crime, but they teach that 
crime pays i They not only show criminals, but they 
show them as brave men and women j as romantic, adventure 
loving, admirable people, who, after all, are not so 
bad. And in the movie they get away with their crime 1 
The movie is a school of sin, and the teachings and .> 
precepts of the movie on the whole are bad."; 

This is . the conclusion of the twelve groups of scien- 
tists, educators, phychologists, and sociologists who 
made a detailed four-year study of moving pictures in 
America to learn what happened when people go, to picture 
shows, what they see, what they remember, what results 
the movie has.< 

The movie fails to teach thrift, hard work, temper- 
ance, and such essentials of good character. Some of 
the things that are absolute requirements for the sue- . 



60 THE PILGRIM 



cessful" living of the Christian life are discredited 
in' the movie. The leading characters of most films 
are pictured with large', expensive automobiles, enor- 
mous wardrobes, and the like. They are pictured as 
persons having anything their heart desires. They are 
pictured as persons who squander their money carelessly, 
having no sense of frugality. The general impression 
given by the moving picture is that its stars spend 
their days strolling about the beach and their nights 
at a night club. What will an atmosphere like this 
do to those who feed on it? It is bound to make people 
dissatisfied with their lot— unsatisfied to be just an 
ordinary person. 

Movies give people the wrong outlook on life, in 
the fourth place, as related to authority.. The movie . 
scoffs at the clergy. As Christians we believe that 
the Church must be honored and respected. We believe 
further that the Church has certain regulative powers 
bvor the lives of its members. The movie tends to 
destroy the authority of the Church. 

The movie also ridicules officers of the law. It 
fosters disrespect to the authority of the law. It 
gives the general impression that what you can get 
away with is all right. This is contrary to the 
Christian's code of ethics. As Christian we desire 
to obey those who have the rule over us. 

Again, the movie fosters a general disrespect' for 
the authority of parents. It teaches children to be 
dissatisfied with what they have. It gives children 
ideas of how to pull it over on their parents. This 
cannot be rigjrt, for parents have a claim on the lives 
of their children. The Bible says, "Children, obey 
your parents' in the Lord, for this is right." Leading 
educators realize that careful home training goes a 
long way in making children grow up as respectable 
citiaens. What then if we have an influence which 
undermines this teaching. 

The movie gives people the wrong outlook on life, 
in the fifth place, as related to the proper values of 
life. You will surely agree with me that the movie , 
places the emphasis on self. According to the philo- 



THE PILGRIM 61 



sophy of the movie, the most valuable things in life 
are self -gratification, fame, popularity, wealth and 
pleasure.— Selected from Bible Monitor, lf?U6 # 

WE ARE WHAT WE WILL TO BE 

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus* 11 Phil, 2:5. 

We hear so much about "heart" religion. Many sects 
make this their clarion call. Certain periodicals are 
jammed with declarations upholding the idea. Some 
radio pulpiteers shout their challenge over the ether 
waves so authoratively that one yould think real Christ- 
ian experience has no relationship with the knowledge 
of the Scriptures, One made so bold as to declare that 
head knowledge has nothing whatsoever to do with sal- 
vation, and that if some people were to lose their 
heads (by an act of severance) their religion would be 
all gone and there would be t no hope for that soul 
throughout eternity. 

Let us examine the factual interpretation of the 
Word on this matter. First we should recognize the 
fact that "Not every one that saith, • . Lord, Lord," 
is on speaking terms with the Lord. It is true that 
some people can quote Scripture without being in the 
least concerned about its meaning. It is one thing to 
search the Scriptures to "prove" an argument or to sub- 
stantiate some biased opinion; but it is quite another 
to "study to shew thyself approved unto God, ,, right- 
ly dividing the word of Truth," It is the seeker after 
truth with whom we are concerned now. It is not poss- 
ible to bypass the mind (or head) while filling the 
heart with full Christian testimony and experience. 

As a man thinketh, so is he. It is so with every 
thing we say or do. The old, time-worn, alibi, "I 
spoke before I thought," or "I acted before I thought, » 
is totally false, Thereis not the flick of an eyelash 
but what is first telegraphed from the mind. Not a 
syllable but what it is first framed in the head. 
Proximity with evil and a seared conscience may leave 
us prey to words and deeds which cause belated remorse; 
but if there had not been flirting with evil, no griev- 



62 _ - , ,_ ,„ , TOE/., -ggfiRIK 



ous habits could have resulted. Resisting the Spirit i 
of God at the first crossroads is always; frought with 
defeat, save; through .the atoning merits of the sh^d ; 
blood - of €hrist, by faith applied. Procrastination at 
the foot of the cross always tend to harden the nature 
of the sinner, until after a while it is easy to com- 
mit sin' oi" to 1 omit to do proper honor to the Lord and 
His body. It cotuld hardly be proved that *this is not 
& ebttdixieh o£ ' ^k"a^4"aB\well as the hearth ■ 

H Studying the Scriptures and searching the Scriptures 
implies the acquiring of knowledge therefrom. The very 
fii*St impression received- pertains to the application 
of ones mind to finding out what is required of a sin- 
ner seeking salvation from. his sins. The Holy Sci fc ip- 
tyres.,.. b£ing the only, source of accurate knowledge 
( whether- read, or heard read), it. follows that salvation 
(when _ accepted) inust have been a matter of fact rather 
than emotion, and therefore came through the medium of 
the minii before rt could reach the heart., It is grant- 
ed that bft£6"the' miiid is illuminated, the heart will 
be rejuvenated, and then may come any amount of spon- 
taneous collaborations of both satisfaction and emotion. 

It is a travesty to teach that Qod maneuvers His v - 
children around like puppets, pulling this and that 
string and moving the creature here and yon against 
the "will" of the disciple. Man could not be a free 
moral agent and be bound thus to any directive other 
than his own will and volition • It is true, glory to 
God, that when the disciple has willed to do the \ 
Father's will, then the Father takes over noiod, heart, 
and spirit. Everythiiig. then .done, in word 02* deed, is 
done for love of the Father, through the express -"pur- 
pose" of the mind; to which the heart gives assent in 
triumphant strains. ' : 

The wisdom and the love and the power of Sod flows 
from the throne of God, * through the channels of the 
Word, into ihe wind "and heai^t of the believer, to 
Vwater 11 the whole ; man } equipped for all good works. - 
Ev-ery noifcchristian must ,be approached through the 
medium. of l&e.raind. It detracts, somehow, from the 
beauty ..and the stability of the idea of gr^ce and love 
aIld:peAce^.a^»i;■:vioat^I^us priesthood when Christian liv- 
ing : }& diypr ced from . .mind capacity, will , and knowledge • 

: I s.<\ ; . ,. ; >/ ...-. .. ..; v ; . — Gospel Herald, ; i95T3 









£3 



OBEDIENCE WHEN COMING TO THE 
YEARS OF UNDERSTANDING ' 



-The first impression upon man after becoming accoun- 
table to God, is wrought, by the Spirit of . God, or other- 
wise called the drawings of the Father j and is intended 
to convince him of his sins. This the Apostle. calls, 
"The grace of God which bringeth salvation. And this 
cannot be until the mind is susceptable or ' capable/of 
being impressed. Hence innocent children are never 
included in these duties obligatory on the rational 
man, commanded in the Worii of. God. 
' It is nothing but worldly sophistry and human ab- 
surdities to attempt to prove, by Scriptures the necess- 
ity of including infants in the external ordinances of 
the Church of God} for concerning them; the Saviour says, 
"of such is the* kingdom of heaven," without these 
duties enjoined upon them. But when they grow to a 
mature age' and the operating power of God is felt upon 
theirhearts, and when it teaches them, that "denying 
ungodly and' worldly lusts," they must now live "sober- 
ly, righteously, and godly in this present world," 
they then become accountable to God, because they- know - 
to do good, and if they do it not, it is\sin unto them.' 

Now the Word of God applies to them an regard to '" 
ordinances, and by the 'preaching of the- same, they are 
called to come to the friend of sinners, -Jesus Christ, 
who is the author of eternal salvation to all them 
that obey him. If that gracious call is rejected, 
they alienate themselves from God, : forfeit. .their right 
to the kingdom of heaven, their heirship of God, and 
their interest in the blood of Christ. -Refusal or 
disobedience' t o the call is the first willful and 
actual sin agkinst God, which excludes man from the 
kingdom of God . Man then becomes a servant of sin, 
and a child of the wicked one, and possesses. a carnal 
mind, whiph is enmity against God and is not subject 
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Hence man 
must be born again. 

— Taken from Gospel Visitor,- 1865* 



6k - - -; * .THE, PILGRIM 



NEWS ITEM 
Most of us are glad to live in a country that has 
freedom of religion, with no state church. However , 
there are dangers. People in the United States are ; 
more and more insisting on taking all religion out of 
public schools. In New Jersey there can be no more 
likenesses of Christ and no more Christian hymns at 
Christmas time in -the schools* The Ten Commandments 
cannot be taught and all Christmass observances are 
illegal. In one town in Illinois this past year the 
observance of the birth of Christ and the singing of 
carols have been prohibited # Likewise a city in Calif- 
ornia. The Attorney General of that state has ruled 
that God cannot be mentioned in the classroom* One 
school has instructed its librarian to take out of 
circulation all books which mention God. The Board of 
Education of Hyde Park in Mew York has called the Ten 
Commandments undesirable instructional material. The 
ruling has been upheld by the State Commissioner of : 
Education. In Pennsylvania the statute providing for 
daily Bible reading in the schools is being challenged 
in the ^courts. As these definite efforts to make our 
government godless succeed, the home and the church 
must strive more than ever to keep Christ and God in 
the thinking of our young puople.— Gosple Herald, 19$9 

- If we could see, as angels see, 

The stern events now just at hand, 
The trials awaiting you and me, 

Demanding strength and courage grand. 
, I wonder, would we be content 

To go on living as before? 
On worldly thoughts would time be spent 

Or would we read our Bibles more? 

I wonder > could mere weariness . 

Benumb our ardor, chill, our zeal? 
Would we not face all storms and stress 

With hearts that just for others feel? 
God's Word with guiding beacpn ray 

Show future scenes, unerring, clear; 
Awake, soul^ and work and pray! 

Eternity is almost here J 

— Selected by Catherine Hitch. 



THE PILGRIM §2 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION ; " 

(Condensed from the Lectures of CyG. Finneyy 181*8) 
WHEREIN.' SHOTS im SINNERS WST DIFFER. (Concluded) 

11. The truly regenerate soul overcomes sin. 

Let the Bible be heard upon this subject* "And hereby we do 
know that we know him, if we keep his commandments^ He that 
saith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments,, is a liar, 
and the truth is not in him."— I John 2*3,4. "And every man .. 
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 
Whosoever coratdtteth sin transgress eth also the law; for sin is 
the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifes- 
ted, to' take away our sins-l and in him is no sin. T/tfhosoever 
abideth in iiim sinheth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, 
neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you; he 
that 'doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 
He that committeth sin, is, of the devil; for the devil sinneth 
from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was mani- 
fested, that he might destroy the works of the divil. Whosoever 
is born of God doth not eonamt sin; f or his seed remaineth in 
him;, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the 
children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil;, 
whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God, neither he -that 
loveth not his brother."— I John 3,;3-1.0. ,r Whosoever believeth 
that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God, and every one that 
loveth him that begat, loveth him also that ia begotten of him. 
By this we know that we love ^he children of God, -when we love 
God and keep his coffiraandmenfcsV" For this is the love of God, 
that we'keen his commandments; and his commandments are not 
grievous. For -whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world;, 
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even pur. 
faith*"— I John 5:1-4. 

These passages, understood and pressed to the letter, would 
not only teach, that all regenerate souls overcome and live with- 
out sin, but also that sin is impossible to them. This last cir- 
cumstance, as well as other parts of scripture, forbid us to 
press this strong language to the letter* But this much must 
be understood and admitted, that to overcome sin is the. rule 
with every one who is born of God, and that sin is only the ex- 
ception; that the regenerate habitually live without sin, and 
fall into sin only at intervals, so few and far between, that 
in 'strong language it may be said in truth they do .not sin. This 
is surely the least which can be meant by the spirit of these 
texts, not to press them to the letter, And this is precisely 
consistent with many other ^passages of scripture, several of 
which I have quoted;, such as these ;— "Therefore, if any man be 
'"in Christ, he is a new creatures old things are passed away* 
behold, all things are become new."— II Cor. 5;17, "For in 
Jesus Christ, neither circumsision availeth anything nor uncir- 
'cumcision; but faith which worketh by love,"— Gal, 5s 6. "For in 
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor unci re 
cumcision, but a new creature."— Gal, 6:15. "There is therefore 



66 THE PILGRIM 



now no condemnation to them -which are in Christ Jesus, who walk 
not after the flesh, hut after the Spirit, For the law of the 
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law 
of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it 
was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the like- 
ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
that the right eousne as of the law might he fulfilled in us, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit* "—Rom* 8:1— 
4 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that 
grace may abound? God f orbid* How shall we that are dead to 
sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us 
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that 
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the 
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life* For if 
we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, 
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin 
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin# 
For he that is dead is freed from sin* Now if we be dead with 
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with himj knowing 
that Christ being, raised from the dead, dieth no more; death 
hath no more dominion. over him* For in that he died, he died 
unto sin once: but, in that he liveth, he liveth unto God, Like— 
wise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our. Lord* Let not sin 
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in 
the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments 
of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as 
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instru- 
ments of righteousness un£o God* . For sin shall not have dominion 
over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace , H — 
Rom, 6:1-14, 

The fact is, if God is true, and the Bible is true, the 
truly regenerate soul has overcome the world, the flesh, and 
Satan, and sin, and is a conqueror, and more than a conqueror* 
He triumphs over temptation as a general tiling, and the triumphs 
of temptation over him ase so far between, that it is said of 
him in the living oracles, that he does not, cannot sin# He is 
not a sinner, but a saint* He is sanctified; a holy person; a 
child and son of God* If at any time he is overcome, it is only 
to rise again, and soon return like the weeping prodigal* n The 
sxeps of. a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth 
in his way* Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down: 
for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand*"— Psalm 37:23,24* 

12, The sinner is the slave of sin. The seventh of Romans 
is his experience in his best estate* When he has the most 
hope of himself, and others have the most hope of his good 
estate, he goes no further than to make and break resolutions* 
His life- is. but a death in sin* He has not the victory* He 
sees the right, but does it not* Sin is his master, to whom he 
yields himself a servant to obey* He only tries, as he says, to 



THE FSLGRIM 6j 



forsake sin, but does not in fact forsake it, in his heart* And 
yet because he is convicted, and has desires, and forms resolu- 
tions of amendment, he hopes he is regenerated* 0, -what a horr- 
ible delusion* Stop short with conviction, with the hope that 
he is already a Christian* Alas I how many are already in hell 
who have stumbled at this stumbling stone* 

13* The subject of regeneration may know, and if honest he 
must know, for what end he lives* There is, perhaps, nothing 
of which he may be more certain that of his. regenerate or unre— - 
generate state; and if he -will keep in. mind what, regeneration 
is, it would seem that he can hardly mistake his own character, 
so far as to imagine himself to be regenerate when he is not • 
The great difficulty that has been in the way "of the regenerate- 
soul^ knowing his regeneration, and has led to so much doubt v 
and embarrassment upon this subject, is that regeneration, has 
been regarded as belonging to the sensibility, and hence the 
attention has been directed to the ever-fluotuating-feelings for 
evidence of the change. No wonder that this has led conscient- 
ious souls into doubt and embarrassment • But let the subject 
of regeneration be disenthralled from a false philosophy, and" 
let it be known that the new heart consists in supreme disinter- 
ested benevolence, or in entire consecration to God, and then 
who cannot know for what end he lives, or what is the supreme 
preference or intention of his soul? If men can settle any 
question whatever beyond all doubt by an appeal to consciousness, 
it would seem that this must be the question. < Hence the Bible '* 
enjpinsit as an imperative duty to know ourselves, whether we 
are Christians. We are to know each other by our fuits* This 
is expressly given in the Bible as the rule of judgment in the 
case* The question is not so much, What are the man»s opinions? 
as. What does he live for? Does he manifest a charitable state 
of raind? Does he manifest the attributes of benevolence in the 
various circumstances in which he is placed? 0, when shall the 
folly of judging men more by their opinions and feelings, than 
by the tenor of their lives cease? It seems difficult to rid 
men of the prejudice that religion consists in feelings and in 
experiences in which they are altogether passive. Hence they 
are continually prone to delusion upon the most momentous of all 
questions* Nothing can break this spell but the steady and 
thorough inculcation of the truth, in regard to thenature of 
regeneration.— Next: REPENTANCE i j 

CHRISTIANITY CANNOT BE HID 

A secret, unobserved religion cannot be the religion of Jesus 
Christ. Whatever religion can be concealed is not Christianity. 
If a Christian could be hid he could not be compared to a city 
set upon a hill, to the light of the world, to the sun shining 
from heaven and seen by all the world below. 

Never therefore, let it enter the heart of him whom God hath 
renewed in the spirit of his mind to hide that light, to keep 
his religion to himself. EspeodaUyconsidering, it is not only 
impossible to conceal true Christianity, but likewise absolutely 
contrary to the design of the great Author of it.— Selected 



68 THE PILGRIM 



^fefarrical 



THE PROPAGATION OF CHRISTIANITY 
AFTER THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES 

2 m From the spectacle of the ' infidelity and devast- 
ation of Palestine, foretold by so many prophecies, 
and truly designated by Jortin as 'an 'event on which 
the fate and credit of Christianity depended, ! we turn 
to* the more grateful office of tracing its advance," 
and celebrating its success* We may consider the 
neighboring Church of Antioch to have been founded 
about UO A, D f by St. Paul and St. Barnabas. It was 
therethat the converts first assumed the name of Christ- 
ian,' and the first act which is recorded respecting 
them was one of charity to their suffering brethren in 
Judaea, In a mixed population of Greeks, and natives 
unf ottered by the prejudices of Judaism, our holy faith 
made a rapid and steady progress. In the residence of 
the Prefect of Syria, under the very eye of the civil 
government, it is probable that the infant society was 
protected against the active hatred of the Jews; and 
there can be no doubt that its early prosperity was 
greatly promoted by the zeal of its second bishop, 
Ignatius. This ardent supporter of the faith, the 
contemporary, and, as we are informed, the friend of 
some of the Apostles, presided over the Church of Anti- 
och for above thirty years, and at length was led 
away to Rome, and perished there, a willing and exult- 
ing martyr. He fell in the prosecution of Trajan, in 
the year 107. During his journey through Asia to Rome 
he addressed epistles to some of the Christian Churches, 
in which we may still discover the animated piety of 
the author, through the interpolations with which the 
party zealots of after times have disfigured them. 

The fourth bishop in succession from Ignatius was 
Theiphilus," a learned convert from paganism, more just- 
ly celebrated for his books to Autolycus in defence of 
Christianity,/^ than for his attack on the, heresies of 
Marcioh and Kermogenes. Under such guidance the Church 
of Antioch became numerous and respectable; and from 



THE PILGRIM 69 



the ordinary course of events we may reasonably infer,; 
that the religion which was popular in the capital of 
Syria obtained an easy and general reception throughout 
the province. 

A correspondence between our Saviour himself and 
Abgarus, a prince of Edessa in Mesopotamia, is deliver- 
ed to us at the end of the first book of Eusebius, as 
copied from the public records of the city. The genui- 
neness of the correspondence has long ceased to find 
any advocate, and this is probably among the earliest 
of the many pious frauds which have disgraced the 
history of our Church; but the existence of the forged 
record in the archives of Edessa has never been disput- 
ed; and, as it is clearly the work of a Christian in- 
tending to do honor to the founder of his religion, it 
proves at least how early. was the introduqtion of that 
religion into the province of Mesopotamia* 

3. The seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the Reve- 
lation are, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus and Thyatira, 
Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. Of Pergamus and Thya- 
tira little subsequent mention is made in history; the 
other five, and especially the two first, are disting- 
uished among the most fruitful of the primitive commun- 
ities. The Church of Ephesus, which „ was founded by 
St. Paul and governed by Timothy, was blessed by the 
presence of St. John during the latest years of his 
long life. Of him it is related, on sufficient author- 
ity, that when his infirmities no longer allowed him to 
perform the offices of religion, he continued ever to 
dismiss the society with the parting benediction. 'My 
children, love one another i 1 and there is nothing in 
the early history of this Church to persuade us that 
the exhortation was in vain. In fact, Ignatius, during 
his residence at Smyrna, addressed an Epistle to the 
Ephesians bearing testimony to their evangelical puri,ty, 
and to the virtues of their bishop Onesimus. And it ... 
is important to add, that two other Epistles addressed 
at the same, period to churches at Magnesia and Trailer 
(or Tr allium), of more recent foundation, prove the 
continued progress of our faith in those regions, even 
after the last of the apostles had been removed from 



70 THE PILGRIM 



it. At the end of the second century we find that 
. . Ephesus still remained at the head of the Asiatic chur- 
ches, and we observe its bishop, Polycrates, conduct- 
ing them in firm but temperate opposition -to the first 
aggression of the Church of Rome. 

km It would appear from the Epistle of Ignatius to 
the Smyraaeans, that some in that communion were taint- 
ed with heresies j which appeared unpardonable to that 
zealous bishop, and which perhaps might be attended 
with some danger to an infant society* But when he de- 
signates those schismatics as beasts in the shape of 
men, we may doubt whether his exertions in this matter 
were calculated to restore the union of the Church. A 
pious bishop named Polycarp at that time presided over 
the Church of Smyrna: he had been appointed to his 
office by St. John, and continued faithfully to dis- 
charge it until his aged limbs were affixed to the 
stake by the brutality of Marcus Antoninus. 'Eighty 
and six years have I served Christ, and he hath never 
wronged me, 11 was his reply to the inquisitorial inter- 
rogations of the Roman proconsul; and it will not be out 
of place here to transcribe his last beautiful prayer, 
which has reached us from the pen of those who witnes- 
sed his martyrdom. 

'Father of thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, 
through whom we have knowledge of theej God of angels 
and powers and of all creation, and of the whole family 
of the just who live in thy presence I I thank thee 
.that thou hast thought me worthy of this day and this 
hour, that I may take part in the number of the martyrs 
in the cup of Christ for the resurrection of eternal 
life, .soul and body, in the incorruptibility of the 
Holy Spirit— among whom may 1 be received in thy pres- 
ence to-day in full and acceptable sacrifice, as thou 
has prepared, foreshown, and fulfilled, the faithful 
and true God. For this and for everything, I praise 
thee, I bless thee, I glorify, thee, through the eternal 
High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son. r The 
martyrdom of Polycarp took place about 166 A. D. 
— Waddington • s History of The Church. 



THE MASTKR*S GALL 

In the cool of the glad spring morning 

The Master came to me, 
"My seed of truth must be planted* 

Mil you. help in the work?" asked He. 
And I answered, "Wait but a little* 

The day is fair— • so fair; * 
When the mornings are less enchanting* 

In Thy fields I will 4o my share #" 

At. the dawn of a "summer morning 

I heard the Master say* , , 
"My truth must be watched and tended; 

Vftll you work in my fields today*? * 
But I said, "The days are so dreamy* 1 

And surrmer has just begun* 
I will do my part of Thy labor 

Mien the glory of June is done*" ' 

In the dew of an autumn morning 

The Master came once more; 
"My harvest is white*" He. whispered* 

"And reapers are needed sore»" 
"But this autumn joy," I pleaded* 

"I must quaff of, er/eit wane; 
Just a few more draughts of sunshine* 

And I'll help Thee garner the grain. " 

In the chill of a winter morning 

The Master came to me; : 
The ice-bound river was silent, 

And snow lay White on the lea* 
"0 Master, I now am ready 
: To work in Thy fields, 1 *. I said; 
But the Master smiled in pity 

And sadly shook His head* ■ 

"The harvest is over*" He answered, 

**And winter comes apace; 
But some wheat is all ungarnered 
, Because of your vacant place; 
You have spent the year in pleasure, 
' I have pleaded all in vain; 
But what of your own remorses, 
And what of the wasted grain?" 

—Selected* 



72 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDI 
-ACTS- 

As the Title implies, "The Acts of the Apostles" is 
a historical narrative of the apostles in establishing 
the Church and spreading the Gospel* 

According to Christ ! s promise the Church was estab- 
lished on the day of Pentecost by the visitation of the 
Holy Ghost, which through Peter's sermon moved over 
three thousand to be baptized* The Church increased 
and spread rapidly. Peter's vision concerning Cornelius 
plainly revealed that the Gospel should also be deliver- 
ed to the Gentiles . 

One of the chief incidences in this book is the 
miraculous conversion of Paul which turned him from a 
persecutor of the Church to become the most noted 
apostle in the promulgation of the Gospel to the Gentile 
nations. It is indeed a challenge to the Christian to 
consider Paul's labors and the afflictions he suffered 
in the service of the Lord, II Cor, 11:23~33» 

Written by Luke, the book of Acts covers a period 
of approximately thirty- three years; from Jesus 1 ascen- 
sion 30 A. B. to Paul's imprisonment in Home 63 A. B. 

As recorded in the Old Testament, God nourishes up 
a nation through which all nations should be blessed. 
This blessing is largely fulfilled in the preaching 
of the Gospel to all nations of which the first thirty 
years— the most conclusive and effective— is outlined 
in the book of Acts. 

QUESTIONS: 

1. How many days was Jesus seen of the disciples 
between his resurrection and his ascension? 

2. How many missionary journeys did Paul take? 
3* On what occasion was Paul involved in a ship 

wreck? 
U. Which missionary journey did Paul visit Athens? 
5. Who were Aquila and Priscilla? 



— Joseph E. Wagner, Modesto, Calif. 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 APRIL, 1959 NO. 1* 



H Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, absta 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul/ 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



Hail, -thou once despised Jesus i 

Hail, thou Galilean Kingl 
Thou didst suffer to release us; 

Thou didst free salvation bring* 
Hail, thou agonizing Saviour, 

Bearer of our sin and shame I 
By thy merits we find favor; 

Life is given thro* thy name* 

Pasohal Lamb, by God appointed, 

-All our sins on thee were laid; 
By almighty love anointed, 

Thou hast full atonement made* 
jkXl thy people are forgiven, 

Thro 1 the virtue of thy blood; 
.Opened is the gate of heaven; 

Peace is made Hwixt man and God, 

Jesus, haili enthroned in glory, 

There forever to abide; 
All the heavenly hosts adore thee,,, 

Seated at t£iy Father's side: 
There for sinners thou art pleading; 

There thou dost our place preparer 
EVer for us interceding, 

Till in glory we appear. 

Worship, honor, power, and blessing, 

Thou art worthy to receive; 
Loudest praises, without ceasing, 

Meet it is for us to give* 
Help, ye bright, angelic spirits; 

Bring your sweetest, noblest lays; 
Help to sing our Saviour's merits; 

Kelp to chant Inxcanuel's praise I 

—john mxsmiis, 1757 



in 



7U THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM ts a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



"But the natural man receiveth not the things of 
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness un- 
to him: neither can he know them because they 
are spiritually discerned ." I Cor, 2:lU. 
In this text, we are taught that there are two re- 
alms of intelligences ^ the natural and the spiritual. 
These are unseen powers or influences called spirits. 
On the one hand they are uplifting, heavenly and eter- 
nal, and on the other, they are degrading, earthly and 
temporal* 

The word SPIRIT is used many times in the Bible, 
and often simply means life, as in James 3:26, "The 
body without the spirit is dead.' 1 Also in Eccl. 3:21, 
"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and 
the spirit of the beast that goeth downward." "And 
the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 
man became a living soul." This breath of life is the 
"spirit" which makes man a living soul, and gives him 
intelligence, reason and emotion. 

But there is another spirit, beside this breath of 
life, called the "Spirit of God", "Holy Spirit" or 
"Holy Ghost", which is a generative power that begets 
a new man or new creature in Christ Jesus. It is a 
preserving and persevering influence, made available, 
and necessary for us to possess, in order to discern 
and receive the things of God that are heavely and 
eternal . 

All begetting powers beget their kind, and all dis- 
cerning Intelligences discern their kind. And so 
Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, 
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 
John 3:6. And, "The natural man receiveth not the 
things of the Spirit of God. ..neither can he know them 
because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor. 2:lli. 
"For, what man knoweth the things of a man, save the 



THE PILGRIM 75 



spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of 
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." I Cor, 2:11. 
The living soul, then, without the Spirit of God, is 
called the natural man, whose interests and attachments 
are wholly earthly and therefore, temporal or passing. 
But the new creature, which is born of the Spirit, has 
his attachment and interest in the things of God that 
are heavenly and eternal; and because of this difference 
in outlook or goal, there is enmity between these two 
realms of intelligence and being. For, "The flesh lus- 
teth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the 
flesh: and these are contrary one to the other: so 
that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Gal. £:17» 

In I Cor. l£:ljli-U8 we read, "There is a natural body, 
and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, 
The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last 
Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was 
not first idhich is spiritual, but that which is natural; 
and afterward that vjhich is spiritual. The first man 
is of the earth earthy* the second man is the Lord from 
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are 
earthy: and as is the heavenly such are they also that 
are heavenly. 

This "firstman" which is the "natural man" is also 
called the "outward man", in II Cor. U:16j and the apo- 
stle says he perishes. Therefore, because the outward 
or natural man perishes, and the inward man endures 
eternally, it is only wisdom that we turn to the spi- 
ritual for true values. Who would not give the temp- 
oral for the eternal? "But the natural man receive th 
not the things of the Spirit of God.. because they are 
spiritually discerned." Might it be possible that too 
often we try to understand the things of the Spirit 
with the natural mind? This is the thing that puzzled 
Nicodemus. His natural mind said, "How can these things 
be?" But Jesus said, "Except a man be born again (from 
above) he cannot see the KINGDOM OF GOD". . 

We are unable to tell what the exact condition of 
Adam and Eve was before they partook of the for- 
bidden tree. Apparently they had not partaken of the 
tree of life; neither had death passed upon them. But 



J&. 



THE PILGRIM 



when they ate of the forbidden tree, then they were in 
a state of disobedience and disfavor with God and for 
that reason God mercifully removed them from the tree 
of life, "lest" they should eat of it and live forever 
in their undeveloped state of sin. While this was 
seemingly a heavy penalty, it was also a great act of 
love for them and their posterity* Had they been per- 
mitted to take of the tree of life and live forever in 
their sinful state, the way of reconciliation with God 
would also have been closed forever. There never could 
hav# been a way rtiereby this natural or earthy man 
could be liberated from the "bondage of corruption in- 
to the glorious liberty of the Qhildren of God; to be 
a "partaker of the divine nature % and to be "accepted 
in the beloved. " 

The first knowledge we have of the Spirit of God, 
is that it "Moved (brooded) upon the face of the waters." 
So, "It is the Spirit that quiokeneth." "The words 
that I. speak unto you, they are spirit and they are 
life." "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in 
tresspasses and sins... Even when we were dead in sins, 
hath quickened us together with Christ, (for by grace 
are ye gavedj) and hath raised us up together and made 
us sit together in heavenly .places in Christ Jesus.". 
Eph. 2:1-6. . T 

Thus, we are aware of the two realms of intelligence 
and being: the natural or earthy which perishes, and 
the Spiritual or heavenly liiich endures. Therefore, 
we choose the heavenly. But it cannot be received or 
discerned by the natural. We are, therefore, at the 
mercy of God for salvation, and rely upon his supreme 
love to redeem us. We find God willing and able and 
sufficient to save to the uttermost. And this love 
and sufficiency is personified in the Godhead* "God 
is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwell eth in God 
and God in him." Of Jesus, the Son, it is said, "In 
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the 
forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn of every creature. .♦ For it pleased 
the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." Of 
the Holy Spirit it is said, He is eternal. "And it is 



THE PILGRIM . 77 



the Spirit. that beareth witness, because the Spirit is 
truth, "« ' : : 

The ,£arth in its several dispensations, since the 
creation, 'has -been visited and attended by one or more 
of the persons of the Godhead. And the faithful from 
the time of Abel have never been without the presence 
or contact, in some manner* of one of the persons of 
the Holy Trinity* God WALKED in the garden of Eden, 
and SPOKE to Adam. Enoch walked with God, and God took 
him. God spake unto Noah. And God came dofyn on Sinai 
and spoke the words of the law unto Moses and the people. 
Jesus was the "rock" that followed the children of Is- 
rael in the wilderness, and in the fulness of time He 
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his 
glory. Finally: the Holy. Spirit, the third person' 
of the Godhead (the great eternal intelligence) has 
come to earth, in the absence of Jesus, to ABIDE with 7 
us forever. By holy agreement in the Godhead, each per- 
son of the Trinity has their particular part in the 
great work of salvation. 

God is the Father of all. Jesus was chosen to make 
the atonement for sin and became the "Author of eternal 
salvation to all them that obey him." Heb. £:9. And 
he is the great Mediator between God and man. 

The Holy Ghost beareth witness; "for' itis the Spi- 
rit that beareth witness," He will be "in you"; He 
will "comfort" you; will "lead" you, and "bring all 
things to your remembrance that I have said unto you. " 
He will "reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness 
and of judgment." 

John the Baptist was the first to preach repentance 
and remission of sins. "To make ready a people prepa- 
red for the Lord... to give knowledge of salvation unto 
his people by the remission of their sins." Luke 1:17, 
77. John said, "I indeed baptize you with water unto 
repentance for the remission of sins, but there cometh 
one after me whom ye know not, he shall baptize yau 
with the Holy Ghost. " 

The Old Testament prophets foresaw this great era 
of the Holy Spirit's presence and spake of it. Isa. 32: 
15-17 says, ,r Until the Spirit be poured upon us from 



78 THE PILGRIM 



pn high... and the work of righteousness shall be peace j 
and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance 
forever." "And it shall come to pass afterward, that 
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh . . . and also 
upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days 
will I pour out my Spirit." Joel 3-28. Just before 
Jesus ascended again to the Father, he commanded his 
apostles to not depart from Jerusalem, "but wait for 
the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have 
heard of me." For John truly baptized with water; but 
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 
hence. 

The apostles did as they were commanded and when the 
day of Pentecost was fully come, after the long-awaited, 
prophesied atonement was made for sin, they were bap- 
tized with the Holy Ghost; and the same miracle was 
repeated in them that was in Christ their Lord ; namely, 
God in man; in temples not made with hands. And his 
laws were written, not with ink or with a graving tool, 
in tables of stone; but with the Spirit of the living 
God, in fleshly tables of the heart. II Cor. 3:3. 

On thfc day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter being 
full of the Holy Ghost, testified of Jesus; and preach- 
ed of "Righteousness" and of "Sin" and of "Judgment", 
saying, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in 
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

There were impenitent persons there on that day 
who mocked, and could not receive nor discern the things 
of the Spirit of God. But those who did receive it, 
glorified God, and said, "We do hear them speak in our 
tongues the wonderful works of God." "For, as many as 
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to 
fear; but ye have received spirit of adoption, whereby 
we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth wit- 
ness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 

"Now the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 
longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance; 
against such there is no law." 

-D.F.W. 



THE PILGRIM ; 7? 



FAITH TOWARDS GOD 
By J. I, Cover 

The principle and power of faith is used in many 
different ways by every rational human being. Faith 
towards God is the proposal in Hebrews 6:1 and in 
Heb. 11:6. We read: "For without faith it is impos- 
sible to please him? for he that cometh to God must 
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them 
that dilligently seek him." God has repealed in his 
Word his power of creation of the Universe and all its 
inhabitants, his provision and power to sustain all 
forms of living beings; his crowning work of creating 
man from which preeminence and place he by transgres- 
sion fell. God has revealed himaelf through Jesus 
Christ our Saviour, Preserver, and Benefactor - He has 
shown his power over death by the resurrection of Jesus 
from the grave - And now he demands that we please him 
by believing that he is. Faith is a wonderful virtue, 
a mighty power, 2 Thes. 1:11. It comes by hearing, and 
hearing by the Word of God, Rom. 10:17. "We walk by 
faith", "we live by faith", "we stand by faith", it over- 
comes the world, is our shield and purifies the heart. 
We can have little faith, great faith and be full of 
faith, and all this is faith towards God by believing 
"that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that 
dilligently seek him." Jesus saith have faith in God, 
Mark 11:22. "Faith is the substance (or assurance) of 
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
Belief is a conviction of truth, Faith is active, living 
belief. Jas. 2:19, 20. All creation points to God, 
his word of truth reveals his divine person and dea- 
lings with man, his promises induce us to not only be- 
lieve, but dilligently seek him, and also by doing his 
will the promise is that we shall know . John 7:17. 
We have everything to gain by believing in him; every- 
thing to lose by rejecting him. Let us have faith to - 
wards God, have faith in him; he will not fail us, but 
keep us along the narrow way that leads to eternal 
life, the way the faithful of the ages have loved, 
lived and died for. The faith which worketh by love. 



80 THE PILGRIM 



Little faith for little men; 

.Great faith for the greater, 
Faith makes free and happy *hen, 

Blest by our Creator* 

Faith by love works for our gain, 
Power to wield or hiding, 

In his care, in sun or rainj 
Safe in God abiding. 

Faith in God we trust his lead; 

Where he walks we follow, 
In the sunlit pastures feed, 

Or in darkest hollow. 

Faith towards Godj sun of my soul, 

See thy glory shining)" 
Mighty power over, me roll, 

All JOS' life aligning. 

Faith to stand for truth and right j 
Living, loving, learning; 

Some day changing faith for sight, 
At our Lord's returning. 

Faith that stands by love and hope, 

Overcomes victorious; 
Though in darkness we may grope, 

Light is then more glorious. 

Light or darkness, rain or sun, 
Stormes or powers assail usj 

Faith to walk or faith to run, 
God will never fail us . 



-Star Route Box 1160, Sonora, Calif, 
NEXT: UNBELIEF. 



THE PILGRIM 81 



RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. ACTS 3:21 
By David A. Skiles 

There are many exceeding great and precious promises 
in Holy Scripture set before the sons and daughters of 
God to animate within them a profound desire and incen- 
tive to become heirs and posessors in deed and in truth 
of the true riches of these holy provision which God 
has in store for his obedient children. But there are 
perhaps none greater than what is imbodied in the above 
scrip ture* 

No doubt in every normal human breast there are in- 
centives toward the achievement of some real or fancied 
objective to which the mind aspires, he that objective 
of lowest or highest value. In Eden the mere taste of 
fruit (forbidden) must have been very infinite smal com- 
pared to the loss that was incured upon the human race 
by this trival gratification, which moreover plunged 
the world, the human race into a state of degeneracy, 
insufficiency, sorrow and woe, thorns, thistles, war 
and blood shed, the effects and consequences of which 
we see on every hand. Then what a need for restoration, 
redemption and restitution. 

In all this dilemma God, God the Creator's eye, has 
ever been above and over his creatures in their for- 
lorn condition, and in the instrumentality of his Son 
he has brought about a very marked degree of resti- 
tution, but not restitution in its fullness. However, 
it is alone through the merits of His Son that full 
restitution can finally be attained. In full obedience 
to the Son of God lies man's only hope for revival and 
redemption from his fall and ruined state to that glo- 
rious heritage and time of restitution of all things. 

This awaits every one who comprehends its value, 
and does not fail to comply with the terms on i^hich it 
can be attained. Otherwise the sorrow, the defections 
of a sin cursed world will find their retribution in 
agony, misery and death. What a profound step in re- 
demption and retribution vhen Christ will be king over 
all the earth for one thousand years, and all will be 
subject to his sovereign will, when the swords will be 



8r " ' THE "PILGRIM 



turned into plow shares, and the spears into pruning 
hooks , when the lethal atom bombs will be forgotten, 
and they learn war no more, when the lion and the bear 
will be harmless as a babe, and finally when aatans. . 
"last attempt to -deceive -'the* nations will .meet the fiery 
wrath of Almighty God, and- the doom of hell.. 

And then vfe envisage by faith the New Heaven and 
the New Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. * The 
forrrasr things no more to come into remembrance. .The. 
Holy City, New Jerusalem coming down from God out of 
Heaven. "And I John saw the holy, city, new Jerusalem 
coming down from God out of . heaven, prepared: as a; 
bride adorned for her husband. And £ heard a voice . 
out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is 
with -men, and he will dwell with them and be their 
God, and they shall be his people, and. God himself 
shall be with them and be their God. And God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall 
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither 
shall there be a*iy more pain: for the farmer tilings 
are passed away. J 1 Rev. 21. 

Here will be INSTITUTION- OP ALL THINGS. "When. 
Christ will have delivered up the kingdom to God, 
even the Father; when he shall have put down all- rule 
and all authority and power. For he must reign, till, 
he hath put all enemies under his feet" and God will 
be all in all* ■• 

Who can fail to center his affections, his life 
work in full consecration to the terms that will en- 
dow him to such £ heritage as this? How pertinent 
the words of the apostle Peter, Acts 3 * 19-23* "Hq- 
pent ye therefore, and be converted, that your. SINS 
may be BLOTTED OUT, when the times of refreshing shall 
come from the PRESENCE of the LORD; and he shall 9 end 
Jesus Christ whitjn before was preached . unto you: 
whom the heaven must receive until! - the times of 
RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS, which God hath spoken by 
the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
began." 

- Rossville, Indiana 



THE PILGRIM 83 



MOSES 
By Leslie E. Cover 

"Hear now my words-: If there be a prophet among 
you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a 
vision, and will speak unto him in a dream, My ser- 
vant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine 
house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even ap- 
parently, and not in dark speeches;, and the similitude 
of the Lord shall he behold. 11 Num. 12:6,7,8. 

This declaration from the Lord Himself shows how 
great a man this Moses was. He stands out as one of 
the, greatest figures in the Old Testament. For forty 
years he was the spiritual and natural leader of a 
nation of about two million people who. were constantly 
on the move from place to place. He led them from 
slavery in Egypt to their promised land, though they 
were critical, rebellious ^ and sinful. He outlived . 
all but two of the whole nation down to sixty years 
younger than he was. When he died at 120 years, "his 
eye wa3 not dim nor his natural force abated. " Now we 
know that this man could not have done any of these 
things without the constant support and direction of 
God. But what we would like to consider is: Why did 
the Lord choose this man for these great tasks? 

Moses had many qualifications that fitted him for 
his position. He was raised and educated in Egypt 
where the children of Israel were in slavery. At one 
time he was in a position of influence and power in 
Egypt's government. He was an exile for forty years 
in Midian and must have known the very country where 
the Israelites wandered* 

Moses valued the presence of God above all else. 
Once he pleaded with God "If thy presence go not with 
me, carry us not up hence", Ex. 33:i£. Because of 
this reliance on God, he was permitted to see part of 
God's form and glory, but not His face. 

Moses had a strong love for his people. Time and 
again he fell on his face before the Lord to plead 
for the people when they had sinned. This love was 
best demonstrated, I think, when the people sinned by 



8U THE PILGRIM 



worshipping the golden calf. The Lord proposed to 
destroy the nation and make of Moses a people to serve 
Him* Moses could have accepted this offer. But he 
pleaded for the people and said "Yet now, if thou wilt 
forgive their sin -j and if not, blot me, I pray thee 
out of thy book which thou hast written. 11 And the Lord 
said unto Moses, "Miosoever hath sinned against me, 
him will I blot out of my book." Ex. 32: 32,33. Many 
men were slain and the people were plagued because of 
this sin> but because of Moses 1 plea, the Lord gave 
them another chance. 

In spite of the great responsibilities of leader- 
ship, or perhaps because of them, Moses was a meek 
man. In Numbers 12:3 it says "Now the man Moses was 
very meek, above all the men which were upon the face 
of the earth." This quality in Moses may have been 
what the people tried to take advantage of, as in the 
rebellion of Korah. But they found Moses to be a man 
of firmness and decision 'when there was a crisis or a 
challenge to b6 met, and when the Lozxi was directing. 

Moses realized his weaknesses. When the Lord spoke 
to him from the burning bush and told him to return to 
Egypt to deliver Israel, he made excuses and doubted 
his ability to carry out so great a task. He was riot 
so sure as he had been forty years before when he wan- 
ted to deliver the people and they would not understand. 
Now the Lord could use him because Moses realized how 
much he depended on the Lord. 

In many of his characteristics and accomplishments, 
Moses resembled Christ, although Christ and His work 
far supercede any work of Moses or other men. As 
Moses delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt, so Christ 
delivered the world from the bondage of sin. As Moses 
interceded for the wayward children of Israel, so is 
Christ interceding for his people before. the Father. 
Moses sang a song of victory and deliverance when the 
Israelites escaped the Egyptians, So shall the re- 
deemed sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and 
the song of the* Lamb when they have gained the victory 
over sin and v death. Moses prophesied of Christ when 
he said "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a 



THE PILGRIM 8£ 

Prophet from the midst, of thee, of thy brethren, like 
unto me; unto htm ye shall hearken. 11 Deut. 18:15. 

Moses made a great mistake when he smote the rock 
for water instead of speaking to it as God had in- 
structed. In this he did not sanctify the Lord before 
I the people, but lost his temper because the people were 

rebellious. Because of this, Moses could not enter the 
promised land of Canaan, but he was allowed to see it, 
and then God took him to the eternal promised land* 
The apostle Jude records that the devil disputed about 
the body of Moses, perhaps because of Moses 1 great mis- 
take. But we know the Lord must have protected him 
and rebuked Satan, for hoses and Elijah appeared with 
Jesus when He was transfigured before the eyes of the 
three apostles, and they talked of Jesus' crucifiction. 
What a mission of honor this was for these two outstan- 
ding prophets. 

We can learn much from the character of Hoses. The 
good qualities that he had are just as valuable to 
Christians today as they were then. 

- Sonora, California 



AN INVALID PREMISE 
In connection with the teaching in I Cor. $ on church 
discipline we often find an invalid premise established 
for a type pf church organization which did not exist 
in the early church. Recently we read these words on 
I Cor. $i * "It is very clear that the Apostle Paul 
wrote to the whole Corinthian Church. Everyone in the 
congregation has the responsibility of governing the 
church. It is not the business of one man, not even 
a man of authority like the Apostle Paul. A New Testa- 
1 ment church manages its own affairs. The apps tie asked 
the church (all believers) to put out the offender. 11 

We write this will all due respect to the author of 
the quoted paragraph. We only wish to point out an 
oversight which may carry with it serious consequences* 
A careful exaiolnation of this passage in its context 
and in light' of other Scripture throws an entirely dif- 
ferent light on the matter of church organization than 



86 __ THE PILGRIM 



that quoted above* 

We do not deny that every member has a responsibility 
to keep the church pure. However, we do challenge the 
point that Paul did not have the authority, and that 
it was not his business to excmmunicate the fornicator. 

The error in interpretation here, which gives rise 
to a false premise for Congregationalism, arises from 
an oversight as to the part that Paul played in the 
affairs of the Corinthian Church. It seems that we 
are to understand that the congregation took the ini- 
tiative in the disciplinary action. The facts that 
Paul is writing a corrective epistle and is functioning 
as an overseer are not mentioned in this connection. 

Let us notice Paul's procedure. In verse 3 he says, 
"For I verily ...have judged already,.. M Paul does 
not approach the problem by calling the man's sin to 
the attention of the congregation and asking it to de- 
cide what to do about it. No, he recognizes that the 
man has already separated himself from the church by 
his act of sin and he coinrriands that this man be visi- 
bly excommunicated from the body of Christ. The con- 
gregation does pot take a vote on the matter J Instead 
it is asked to co-operate in this effort (verse k) 
that the church may be pure and that the man might be 
awakened, repent, and be restored into the fellowship. 
In all this Paul, exercising his authority, made the 
decisions find the congregation co-operated. 

/We observe in II Cor. 2:1-8 that the man repented. 
Wq notice here also that the congregation needed its 
oyer seer. It was negligent to receive the repentant 
cfne back into the fellowship. Paul therefore requested 
that they confirm their love toward him. Verse 8. 
Again it was necessary for him to exercise his autho- 
rity in the interests of the church. 

We wonder if the man would have been saved had Con- 
gregationalism been in effect. Indeed, we wonder if 
the first step toward his salvation, the disciplinary 
action, would have been taken. Apparently the congre- 
gation was not aware of the seriousness of the man's 
sin. Therefore it took Paul, the overseer of thfe ch- 
urch "who was more mature spititually, to initiate the 
necessary action. —Gospel Herald, Nov. 12, 19$ 7 



THEPILGRIM 81. 






ORATIONS TO GOD 

The occasion was the inauguration of a governor. 
The peoceedings opened with an invocation delivered by 
a clergyman, who was a close friend of the new governor. 
And what a prayer it was! It was addressed to God— 
it had to be to qualify as a prayer # But it was obvi- 
ously intended for the ears of men. For it told God 
things, that He already knew— that this is a beautiful / 
and richly endowed commonwealth, that it had seen a : ^ 
series of important historical events— all loftily, de^- 
scribed. The orator stretched the truth a bit when he 
told God that in this state men are neither Democrates 
nor Republicans, but first of all citizens . The orator- 
ical flight ended with *'These petitions we ask in the 
name of Jesus." But there had been little or nothing - 
of petition in th$ prayer. . 

But; it is not only on political occasions when God 
is thus instructed. Many a preacher whose only part in 
a service is leading in prayer uses the opportunity to 
put in his share of exhortation and discussion. We so 
dearly love to preach that we can l t keep from preaching 
when we pray. The fomula often is, "Lord Thou knowest." 
But if He knows, why tell Him? The story is told of a 
minister who managed to work into his prayer an announ- 
cement which he had forgotten to give at the proper place. 

Prayer way include praise, adoration, confession, 
petition, and intercession. But there is no place in 
public prayer— obviously not in private prayer— for • 
information. We pray to an all-knowing God, who needs 
no instruction. A Boston newspaper once described a. 
church prayer as the most eloquent ever delivered to a 
Boston audience. The description was probably accurate, 
for we doubt whether God even hears a prayer whbse . . \ 
chief quality is eloquence. 

Extempore prayer has many* virtues, and most of us 
probably feel that we want those who lead us in public 
prayer to pour their words out of the heart rather than 
to read them. But if these extempore prayers degener- 
ate into the mere cogitations of the preacher f s mind, 
an appendix to the sermon, then we would rather hear 
prayers written by somebody who knows what prayer realy 
is. - 

Lord, forgive our prayer s # — Editorial, Gospel Herald. 



88 THE PILGRIM 



REPENTANCE AND IMPENITENCE 
(Condensed from the lectures of C, G f Finney, I8it8) 

I. WHAT REPENTANCE IS NOT. 

1. The Bible everywhere represents repentance as a virtue, a 
and as constituting a change of moral character; consequently, 
it cannot be a phenomenon of the intelligence; that is, it 
cannot consist in conviction of sin, nor in any intellectual 
apprehension of our guilt or ill-desert « All the states or 
phenomena of the intelligence are purely passive states of mind, 
and of course moral character, strictly speaking, cannot be 
predicated of them. 

2* Repentance is not a phenomenon of the sensibility: that 
is, it does not consist in a felling of regret or remorse, of 
compunction or sorrow for sin, or of sorrow in view of the con- 
sequences of sin to self or to others, nor in any feelings or 
emotions whatever* All fellings or emotions belong to the 
sensibility, and are, of course, purely passive states of mind, 
and consequently can have no moral character in themselves. 

It should be distinctly understood, and always borne in 
mind, that repentance cannot consist in any involuntary state 
of mind, for it is impossible that moral character, strictly 
speaking, should pertain to passive states* 

II. WHAT REPENTANCE IS* 

There are two Greek words which are translated by the English 
word, repent. 

1* Metamelomai, "to care for," or to be concerned for one f s 
self; hence to change one's course* This term seems generally 
to be used to express a state of the sensibility, as regret, 
remorse, sorrow for sin, etc* But sometimes it also expresses 
a change of purpose as a consequence of regret, or remorse, or 
sorrow; as in Matt. XXI, 29, "He answered and said, I will not; 
but afterwards he repented and went." It is used to represent 
the repentance of Judas, which evidently consisted of remorse 
and despair* 

2. Metanoe^, "to take an after view; 1 ' or more strictly, to 
change one's mind as a consequence of, and. in conformity with, 
a second and more rational view of the subject* This word 
evidently expresses a change of choice, purpose, intention, 

in conformity with the dictates of the intelligence* 

This is no doubt the idea of evangelical repentance* It 
is a phenomenon of will, and consists in the turning or change 
of the ultimate intention from selfishness to benevolence* The 
term expresses the act of turning; the changing of the heart, 
or of the ruling preference of the soul* It might with prop- 
riety be rendered by the terms "changing the heart." The 
English word "repentance" is often used to express regret, re- 
morse, sorrow, etc., and is used in so loose a sense as not to 
convey a distinct idea, to the common mind, of the true nature 



THE PILGRIM 89 



of evangelical repentance. A turning from sin to holiness, or ; 
more strictly, from a state of consecration to self to a state 
of consecration to God, is and must be the turning, the change 
of mind, or the repentance that is required of all sinners* 
Nothing less can constitute a virtuous repentance, and nothing 
more can be required* 

HI. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN REPENTANCE* 

1 # Such is the correlation of the will to the intellect, 
that repentance must imply reconsideration of after thought* 
It must imply self— reflection* and such an apprehension of 
one*s guilt as to produce self— condemnation* That selfishness 
is sin, and that it is right and duty to consecrate the whole 
being to God and his service, are first truths, necessarily* 
assumed by all moral agents* They are, however, often un- 
til ought of, not reflected upon. Repentance implies the giving 
up of the attention to the consideration and self-application 
of these first truths, and consequently implies conviction of 
sin, and guilt, and ill— desert, and a sense of shame and self- 
condemnation* It implies an intellectual and a hearty justifi- 
cation of God, of his law, of his moral and providential govern- 
ment, and of all his works and ways* 

It implies an apprehension of the nature of sin, that it 
belongs to the heart, and does not essentially consist in, 
though it leads to, outward conduct; that it is an utterly uifc* 
reasonable stato of mind, and that it justly deserves the 
wrath of God forever* 

It implies an apprehension of the reasonableness of the law 
and commands of God, and of the folly and madness of sin* It 
implies an intellectual and a hearty giving up of all contro- 
versy with God upon aU and every point* , 

It implies a conviction, that God is wholly right, and the 
sinner wholly wrong, and a thorough and hearty abandonment of 
all excuses and apologies for sin. It implies an entire and 
universal acquittal of God from every shade and degree of 
blame, a thorough taking of the entire blame of sin to self* 
It implies a deep and thorough abasement of self in the dust, 
a crying out of soul against self, and a most sincere and 
universll, intellectual, and hearty exaltation of God* 

2* Suoh, also, is the connection of the will and the 
sensibility, that the turning of the will, or evangelioal re- 
pentance, implies sorrow for sin as necessarily resulting 
from the turning of the will, together with the intellectual 
views of sin which are implied in repentance. Neither con- 
viction of sin, nor sorrow for it , constitutes repentance* 
Yet from the correlation which is established between the 
intelligence, the sensibility, and the will, both conviction 
of sin, and sorrow for it, are implied in evangelical repentance, 
the one as necessarily preceding, and the other as often pre- 
ceding, and always and necessarily resulting from repentance* 
During the process of oonvition, it often happens, that 
the sensibility is hardened and, unfeeling; or, if there is 
much feeling, it is often only regret, remorse, agony, and dea— 



90 ■ THE PILGRIM 



pair* But when the heart has given away, and the evangelical 
turning has taken place, it often happens that the fountain 
of the great deep in the sensibility is broken up, the sorrows 
of the soul are stirred to the very bottom, and the sensibility 
pours forth its gushing tides like an irresistible torrent. 
But it frequently happens, "boo, in minds less subject to deep 
emotion, that the sorrows do not immediately flow in deep and 
broad channels, but are mild, melting, tender, tearful, silent, 
subdued* 

Self-loathing is another state of the sensibility implied 
in evangelical repentance* This state of mind may and often 
does, exist where repentance is not, just as outward morality 
does* But, like outward morality, it must exist where true 
repentance is* Self-loathing is a natural and a necessary 
consequence of those intellectual views of self that are im- 
plied in repentance* While the intelligence apprehends the 
utter, shameful guilt of self, and the heart yeilds to the 
conviction, the sensibility necessarily sympathizes, and a 
feeling of self— loathing and abhorrence is the inevitable con- 
sequence* 

It implies a loathing and abhorrence of the sins of others, 
a most deep and thorough feeling of opposition to sin — to 
all sin, in self and everybody else* Sin has become, to the 
penitent soul, the abominable thing which it hates* It implies 
a holy indignation toward all sin and all sinners, and a 
manifest opposition to every form of iniquity* 

3. Repentance also implies peace of mind* The soul that 
has full confidence in the infinite wisdom aa d love of God, 
in the atonement of Christ, and in his universal providence, 
cannot but have peace* And further, the soul that has aban- 
doned all sin, and turned to God, is no longer in a state of 
warfare with itself and with God* It must have peace of con- 
science, and peace with God* It implies heart-complacency in 
God, and in all the holy* This must follow from the very 
nature of repentance. 

It implies confession of sin to God and to man, as far 
as sin has been committed against men. If the heart has 
thoroughly renounced sin, it has become benevolent, and is of 
course disposed, as far as possible, to undo the wrong it has 
conmitted, to confess sin, and humble self on account of it, 
before God and our neighbor, whom we have injured. Repentance 
implies humility, or a willingness to be known and estimated 
according to our real character. It implies a disposition to 
do right, and to confess our faults to God and man, as far as 
man has a right to know thenw Let no one who has refused, and 
still refuses or neglects to confess his sins to God, and 
those sins to men that have been committed against them, pro- 
fess repentance unto salvation; but let him remember that God 
has said, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but 
whoso oonfesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy;' 1 and 
again, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for 
another, that ye may be healed," 



THE PILQRIM ?1 



Repentance implies a -willingness to make restitution, and 
the actual making of it as far as ability goes. He is not just, 
and of course is not penitent, who has injured his neighbor in 
his person, reputation, property, or in anything, and is unwil*. 
ling to make resitution. And he is unwilling to make resti- 
tution who neglects to do so whenever he is able. It is im- 
possible that a soul truly penitent should neglect to make all 
practicable resitution, for the plain reason that penitence 
implies a benevolent and just attitude of the will, and the 
will controls the conduct by a law of necessity. 

Repentance implies reformation of outward life. This follows 
from reformation of heart by a law of necessity. It is natu- 
rally impossible that a penitent- soul, remaining penitent, 
should indulge in any known sin. If the heart be reformed, 
the life must be as the heart is. 

It implies a universal reformation of life, that is, a re- 
formation extending to all outward sin. The penitent does not, 
and remaining penitent, cannot, reform in respect to some sins 
only. If penitent at all, he must have repented of sin as 
sin, and of course of all sin. If he has turned to God, and 
consecrated himself to God, he lias of course ceased from sin, 
from all sin as such. Sin, as we have seen on a former occasion, 
is a unit, and so is holiness* Sin consists in selfishness, 
and holiness in disinterested benevolence: it is therefore 
sheer nonsense to say that repentance can consist with indul- 
gence in some sins. What are generally termed little, as welT~^~ 
as what are termed great sins, are alike rejected and abhorred 
by the truly penitent, soul, and. this from a law of necessity, 
he being truly penitent, J 

4, It implies faith or confidence in God in all things. 
It implies not only the conviction that God is wholly right 
in all his controversy with sinners, but also that the heart 
has yielded to this conviction, and has come fully over to con- 
fide most implicitly in him in all respects, so that it oan 
readily commit all interests for time and eternity to his 
hands. Repentance is a state of mind that implies the fullest 
confidence in all the promises and threatenings of God, and 
in the atonement and grace of Christ, —Next; IMPENDENCE 

THE PORTALS OF LIGHT 

I know not the hour of His coming, 
I know not the day of the year, 
But I know that He bids me be ready 
Tor the steps that I sometime shall hear* 
And whether on earth or in heaven, 
Down here, or • mid scenes of the blest, 
I am sure His love will surround me, 
And with Him I will leave all the rest. 
And when His voice calls in the morning, 
At noontime, or perhaps at the night 
With no plea but the one, 
Thou hast oalled me, 
I shall enter the portals of light, 

—Selected. 



92 ,, : . THE PILGRIM 



^Htstorkai 



.,*;• * \ ? tHE* PROPAGATION OF CHRISTIANITY 
"" :,;' "' IN THE SECOND CENTURX. , 

The Churfch of Sardis, whose imperfect faith is re- 
buked by St., John, may have profited by the reproaches 
of its founder, for about the year 177 A.D., we again 
discover it under the government of a learned and 
eloquent bishop, named Melito. To this writer we are 
indebted for the first catalogue of the books of the 
Old ^Testament, compiled by any Christian author, and 
it may be useful , as well as Curious to quote from 
Eusebius the titles of some of his works: -'Two Books, 
concerning Easter «• Rules of Life of the Prophets- 
*A IJ^scourse of the Lord's Day, - Of the Nature of Man - 
Of the Obedience of the Senses to Faith - Of Baptism - 
Of Truth and of Faith, and the Generation of Jesus 
Christ • -/Of Prophecy ^ Of Hospitality - Of the Devil - 
Of , the Revelation of St. John. 1 , And least of all 
should we omit to mention the Apology for Christianity, ! 
which he -addressed tq n m Antoninus. 

Before we take leave of the Asiatic Churches, we 
must remark that the early establishment of Chris- 
tianity was not confined to the shore of the AEgean, 
or to places little removed. from it. Hierapolis, an 
important city of Phrygia, contained a Christian * 
society^ over which p^ias presided in the beginning 
of the--second century.- Papias was an industrious 
collector of all reported acts and sayings of the 
Apostles, and has been "justly designated the Father 
of Traditions; be may have been a feeble' and credu- 
lous man, but it' is enough that his mere existence as 
Bishop of Hierapolis 1 proves the very early progress 
of our religion towards theVintqrior "of Asia. Claudius 
Apollinaris *was bishop of the :same church, in the 
reign of M.' Ant6ninus, .'amah of great deputation, ■ 
as says Eusebius, and celebrated for his 'Apology for 
Christianity, 1 ajid .his "Books against; Jfcws^and Pagans. 1 

The provinc^ pfBitiiynia was situated at the south- 



THE PILGR3H 93 



western extremity of the Euxine Sea, We have no re- 
cord of any Apostolical Church here founded} but we 
are accidentally furnished with proof that, in the very 
beginning of the second century, a great portion of the 
population were Christians - proof which has never been 
disputed, because it is derived from the annals of 
Pagan history. 

Pliny the younger, a humane and accomplished Roman, 
was governor of Poritus and Bithynia for aboift eighteen 
months, during the persecution of Trajan; and on that 
subject, in the year 107, A.D», he addressed to the 
Emperor his celebrated Epistle « This being justly con- 
sidered as the most important document remaining to us 
in early Christian history, we shall here transcribe 
some portion of it, the more willingly as we shall have 
occasion hereafter to refer to it. 

After mentioning the difficulty of his own situation, 
and his perplexity in what manner to proceed against 
men charged with no other crime than the name of Chris- 
tian, the writer proceeds as follows: — •Others were 
named by an informer, who at first confessed themselves 
Christians, and afterwards denied it; the rest said 
they had been Christians, but had left them, some three 
years ago, some longer, and one or more above twenty, 
years. They all worshipped' your image, and the statues 
of the gods j these also reviled Christy They affirmed 
that the whole of their fault or error lay in this — ' 
that they were wont to meet together on a stated day 
before it was light, and sing amon£ themselves alter- 
nately a hymn to Christ, as to God, and bind themselves 
by an oath, not to the commission of any wickedness, 
but not to be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery, 
never to falsify their word, nor to deny a pledge com- 
mitted to them when called upon to return it. When 
these things were perfomred, it was their custom to 
separate, and then to come together again to a meal, 
which they ate in common without any disorder; but this 
they had forborne since the publication of my edict by 
which, according to your commands, I prohibited as~ 
semblies. 

After receiving this account, I judged the more 



9U .. THE PILGRIM 



necessary to examine, and that by torture, two maid 
servants which were called ministers; but I have dis- 
covered nothing beside a bad and excessive superstition. 
Suspending, therefore, all judicial' proceedings, I 
have recourse to you for advice, for it has appeared 
to me matter hightly deserving consideration, especi- 
ally upon account of the great number of persons who 
are in danger of suffering, for many of all ages, and 
every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, and 
will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this super- 
stition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, 
and the open country; nevertheless, it seems to me 
that it may be restrained and corrected. It is cer- 
tain that the teirples #iich were almost forsaken begin 
to be more frequented; and the sacred solemnities, 
after a long intermission, are revived. Victims like- 
wise are every where bought up, where as for a time 
there were few purchasers. Whence it is easy to 
imagine what numbers of men might be reclaimed if par- 
don were granted to those who repent. 1 

So few and uncertain are the records left to guide 
our inquiries through the obscure period which immedi- 
ately followed the conclusion of the labors of the 
Apostles, that the above testimony to the numbers and 
virtues of our forefathers in faith becomes indeed in- 
valuable. No history of our Church can be perfect 
without it; and its clear and unsuspected voice will 
be listened to by every candid inquirer in every age 
of" truth and history* At present our only concern is 
with the concluding paragraphs, which show us how ex- 
tensively our religion was disseminated within seventy- 
five years from the death of its founder, in a pro- 
vince very distant from its birthplace, and where no 
apostle had ever penetrated; and certainly it is not 
unfair to infer that in other provinces more favorably 
situated, and more industriously cultivated, as rich 
a harvest may have grown up of faith and piety, though 
unnoticed by the pen of the Roman officers, whose mere 
duty required nothing more from them than its extirpa- 
tion » 

— Waddington's History of The Church* 



THE PILGRIM $$ 



THE PRINCE OF PEACE 

Thou alone art true and faithful, 
Thou the way, the living Flame, 
Thou alone hast perfect wisdom, 
From the source of power came* 
None were strong to die and suffer, 
None but thee could bear the shame* 
Thou was ever true and faithful. 
Praise and glory to thy name. 

Thou hast all the stores of wisdom, 
Came to light a living way, 
Come to bring thy faith and spirit, 
Thou the light, the perfect day* 
Jesus, clothed in shining garments, 
Come once more to earth and reign, 
Thou with voice like many waters, 
Thou art King forever, deign* 

Deign to walk within thy vineyard, 
Bring our loved and lost with Thee, 
Thou alone art true and faithful, 
Come and turn our bondage free. 
2*lake us meet to stand before thee. 
Thou hast died to gain our souls, 
May we fail not e'er to seek Thee, 
E'er the water o'er us rolls* 

Thou alone art true and faithful, 
Thou alone wilt long endure* 
Who beside Thyself hath power 
All the ills of life to cure? 
May I serve but Thee and follow 
Only that which pleaseth Thee, 
For Thy spirit ask believing, 
Thou, and all thy joys to be* 

Thou alone canst cheer the dying, 
Thou canst bring our loved and lost, 
None but Thee could bring salvation, 
None but Thee could pay the cost* 
Thou alone hadst faith to suffer, 
Thou hadst faith enduring long, 
Now to Thee be praise and glory, 
Now to Thee all things belong* 

— LOTTIE A* CRIPE 



96 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
....-RQMAN5- 

The Epistle. to the Romans was written from Corinth, 
on the eve of St. Pauls departure, for Jerusalem, and 
wa3 sent to Rome by Phoebe, a deaconess of Cenchraea, 
the port of Corinth, about A.D. $® m \ S,t. Paul had 
long purposed visiting Rome," and still retained this 
purpose, wishing also to. extend his journey to Spain, 
For the time, however, he was prevented from carrying 
out his design,/ as he; vas bsund for Jerusalem with the 
alms of the Gentile Christians, and meanwhile he ad- 
dressed this letter to the Romans to supply the lack 
of his personal -teachirl^. She Epistle, was written in 
Greek. - 

Perhaps the^Epistle* to "the Romans is- the most im- 
portant and -systematic and argumentative of all the 
Epistles of St." Paul, Its immediate 'occasion seems to 
have been the 'misunderstanding which existed beteeen 
the Jewish and Gentile converts, not only at Rome, but 
everywhere. The Je^ felt himself In privilege superior 
to the Gentilej who on the other hand did not all this 
superiority, and was vexed by the assertion of it. In 
reference to this, :rn the first five chapters, the 
apostle proves that". :ti\e entire human race is depraved 
and under condemnation, that neither Jew nor Gentile 
has any privilege of birth or personal merit, but that 
each receives all benefit 3 through the sovereign grace 
of God, Christ alone being pur justification . He then 
proceeds to exibit Christ a§ our sanctification ; and 
answers the objections made; vo the doctrine of gratui- 
tous justif icats on, that it, tends, to /encourage sin, and 
that God has no right to treat man in this way. In 
chapters ten and £leven> he applies all this to the 
Jews. In the, remainder of the Epistle, which is horta- 
tory, the apostle lays down many practical rules of 
conduct, which aj*e of the highest moment to all Chris- 
tians. . ; " ■- ■- ' 

- -Richard; D. Skiles 
* 2000 Woodland Avenue 
Modesto, California 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 MAY, 1959 NO. $ 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. 1 ' 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



"CAST THY BREAD UPON THE WATERS" 

"Cast thy bread upon the waters," 

You who have but scant supplyj 
Angel's eyes will watch above it; 

You shall find it by and by # 
He who in His righteous balance 

Doth each human action weigh, 
Will your sacrifice remember. 

Will your loving deeds repay. 

"Cast thy bread upon the waters," 

Sad and weary worn with carej 
Often sitting in the shadow,— 

Have you not a crumb to spare? 
Can you not to those around you 

Sing some little song of hope, 
As you look with longing vision 

Through faith's mighty telescope? 

"Cast thy bread upon the waters," 

You who have abundant store; 
It may float upon a billow, 

It may strand on many a shore , 
You may think it lost forever, 

But, as sure as God is true, 
In this life or in the other, 

It will yet return to you, 

— Anon. 

Selected by a sister. 



98 THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM if o religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf In the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies tent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



"YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN" 

These words of Jesus are perhaps the most startling 
that the human mind could hear and entertain* And to 
come from a "teacher come from God u was indeed a marvel 
to Nicodemus; and is just as great a marvel now to 
every natural man as it was then to Nicodemus. 

The first pair (man and woman) on the earth were 
created by God, as we read in Gen. 2:7, "And the Lord 
God formed man of the. dust of the ground, and breathed 
into his nostrils the breath of lifej and man became a 
living soul." 

No doubt Adam was formed in full stature, whatever 
was determined by the Creator to be a perfect man, 
whether £»-10" and weighing 165, or 6' and weighing 
185, his stature was complete and he did not need to 
grow up. Eve was made of a rib taken from Adam, and 
we have every reason to believe that she was fully 
developed, a perfect woman physically, end perhaps the 
most beautiful woman that ever lived. All other human 
beings were born of some woman and made their first 
appearance in this world, very small in size and absolu- 
tely helpless; neither able to walk, talk nor under- 
stand anything which may be said to them and taking a 
period of about twenty or twenty five years to dcvelope 
into full manhood or womanhood by a process of growth. 

Some, with fond reminiscence, pore over the joys of 
their childhood and imagine thet they would like to 
return to that state and live that part of their life 
again; I have never heard of any one who wished to be 
a new-born babe again and live once more those years 
of infancy and helplessness. - All of this of course 
being impossible, regardless of our wishes, as time 
and growth can never go backward. So witness the marvel 
and reaction of the human mind to the declaration of 
Jesus, "Ye must be born again." Humanly impossible 
and undesirable and undignified to the human mind, it 



THE PILGRIM 99 



would mean a complete loss of all that had been acquired 
by careful and laborious effort over a considerable 
period of time. Nevertheless Jesus said, u Ye must be 
born again ; l! 

How can this be? How can a man be born when he is 
old? "Can he enter the second time into his mothers 
womb, and be born?" No! No J No J Nicodemus: Are you 
a leader of the people of God, and yet you do not know 
that there is a difference between earthly things, and 
heavenly? Do you not know that there are natural things, 
and things that are spiritual? "That which is born of 
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit 
is spirit. !l uo you not know these things? They are all 
told in the first chapter of the Bible - that every liv- 
ing thing begets its own kind. Jesus did not say to 
Nicodemus, you must REPEAT your natural birth. But he 
did say, "Ye must be born again." In other words, you 
must have ANOTHER BIRTH. Bom FROM ABOVE* (marginal 
reading, John 3 # -3). 

As the natural birth is the beginning of the natural 
life to be lived in this world, so the new birth (from 
above) is the beginning of the spiritual life that will 
be lived eternally in. the world to come. Therefore, 
in order to experience heavenly things and become citi- 
zens of that world we must be born from above. For, 
except a man be bom again, he cannot SEE the kingdom 
of God. John 3:3. Ana, "Except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he cannot ENTER INTO the kingdom of 
God. u Verse^U. "For as many as received him, (Jesus) 
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even 
to them that believed on his name: which were born, not 
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will 
of man, but of God." John 1:12,13. "Being born again, 
not of corruptable seed, but of incorruptable, by the 
Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. " I Peter 

1:23. 

Just as there is no experience of this life, or no 
living in this world before we are born, so, there is 
no knowledge or experience of the kingdom of heaven 
until we are born into it. 

Nicodemus 1 understanding was clear in this respect, 



100 , ; . THE PILGRIM 



that he understood that a birth was the beginning of a 
life existance and experience. — to begin over. And 
such also is the meaning of these words of our Lord and 
Master., to all who hear it, Whosoever ye be, if ye wish 
to enter into the kingdom of God, ye must have another 
birth — of water and of the Spirit, Children, who have 
a goodly, heritage, who have been born in good homes, 
and have been blessed in them, if you desire a heavenly 
home, you must be born into it from above. 

The great educational system and schools are ail for 
this life and this world, and they may or may not be 
properly instituted and managed to promote and obtain 
the greatest benefits in this life. But they are not 
qualified for, and they do net attempt to, nor can they 
show the way to eternal life. 

But, can we not use our worldly gain of knowledge 
and position to further us into the Kingdom of. God? 
Paul says, "For the preaching of the .cross is to them 
that perish foolishness but unto us .which are saved it- 
is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy 
the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the under- 
standing of the prudent. VJhere is the wise? where is 
the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath 
not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

For afterthat in the wisdom of God the world by wis- 
dom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of 
preaching to save them that believe. . . But of him are 
ye in Christ Jesus; who of God is made unto us wisdom, 
and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption: " 

What then? Does being born again mean to start at 
the beginning? start life all over? Yes; it means the 
beginning of a new and different life, "Therefore if 
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things 
are passed awayj behold all things are become new." 
II Cor. 5:17. It would be just like a babe — and that 
is what it means: "Except ye be converted, and become 
as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom 
of heaven." Matt. 16:3. — D # F.W, 

Television permits you to be entertained in your living 
room by characters you would nfc:fcer entertain in your 
living room # — Selected 



THE. PILGRIM 101 



UNBELIEF 
By J. I* Cover 

Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an 
evil heart of unbelief , in departing from the living 
God. Heb. 3:12. The evil heart and spirit of unbelief 
can be traced back to the beginning of sacred history; 
even as the line of faith towards God follows down from 
Able to the saints who will be living here when Jesus 
comes. So the parallel lines of opposite nature have 
followed, a record of hope and despair, obedience and 
disobedience, dividing mankind into two camps. 

Sin can be directly traced to unbelief; as we read 
the mission of the Holy Spirit is to "reprove the world 
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin 
because they believe not on he ." St. John 16:8,9. 

Unbelief is not a passive indiffernet condition, but 
active and opposed to God, and a bar to accepting God's 
word of truth. The evil spirit of unbelief comes to 
man with intent to decieve and turn him. away from the 
truth. "The devils also believe ana tremble,' 1 James 
2:19, yet they engage in the work of inaucing man to 
disbelieve and disobey; an insidious and evil work, 
which working on the heart of man, places evil there, 
instead of good. Unbelief, like shame, is bold, and 
read,/ to attack every christian. —The disciples of 
Jesus had it to contend with even while being with 
Jesus; and they were put to rout while Jesus was, upon 
the hount of Transfiguration, they brought a lunatick 
boy to them and they could ao nothing for him. When 
Jesus came down from the Mount and cast out the devil 
from the boy, the disciples said, ""Why could not we 
cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of 
your unbelief." Matt. 17:18,19. Unbelief is a bar to 
faith — a bar to Jesus working to show his love and 
power to man. Unbelief is only possible when the truth 
is presented to man, and he refuses to accept it. Un- 
belief prevented the children "of Israel from entering 
the promised land, Heb. 3-19. Unbelief continuing in 
the heart of unbelievers will prevent them from enter- 
ing the promised land of eternal rest. The father of 



X02 THE PILGRIM 



the son that was healed, faceing the Master, saw his 
heart and cried, "Lord I believe help thou mine un- 
belief," He received a blessing, so can we. 

Lord I believe that Jesus came to save 

My soul from darkness and the gloomy grave; 

For Jesus loves me, he has borne my grief, 
Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief! 

Lord I believe thy grace can make me whole, 
Thy Spirit lead through life my needy soul; 

For every trouble thou hast brought relief, 
Lord I believe help thou my unbelief I 

Lord I believe he brought thy word so true, 
To lead and guide men all my journey through; 

And in the harvest gather every sheaf, 
Lord I believe help thou my unbelief I 

Lord I believe that Jesus prayed for me, 
With all his children near Gethsemene; 

Then in the garden bowed his head with grief, 
Lord I believe. help thou my unbelief 1 

Lord I believe he carried bravely still, 
My sorrows going up Golgothas hill: 

They pierced his bands and to his cries were deaf, 
Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief! 

Lord I believe that Jesus died for me; 
. He shed his blood upon Mount Calvary; 
And none confessed him but the dying thief, 
Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief I 

" Lord I believe he left the narrow tomb; 

Took from the grave the dark abysmal gloom; 
For blessed thought his stay with death was brief, 
Lord I believe help thou my unbelief! 

Lord I believe that thou wilt safely guide, 
Across the ocean lifes tempesteous tide; 

Ana in the breakers bear o'er every reef, 
Lord I. believe help thou my unbelief ! 

— Star Route, Sonora, Calif • 

Next: THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS, 



THE PILGRIM 103 



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CHRIST? 

By Rudy Cover * j; 

"What think ye of Christ? Whos§> sbn*is he? 11 , asked 
Jesus of the Pharisees. They recognized Christ only 
as the son of David. They could not comprehend that 
any man could be the Son of God, When we recognize 
Jesus as the Son of God we cannot limit his power. 
There is nothing impossible for him to do. If he wishes 
to take the form of man, it is his prerogative 
to do so. 

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with 
God and the Word was God. The same was in the bep^inning 
with God. All things were made by him, and without him 
was not anything made that was made. And the Word was 
made flesh and dwelt among us, (ana we beheld his glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full 
of grace and truth." This 'Word' referred to in John 1, 
is Jesus who is also co-creator with the Father. It 
Is hard for us to grasp in reality, the truth that 
Christ was Gad in the flesh. "And without controversy 
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest 
in the flesh, justified In the Spirit, seen of angels, 
preached unto the gentiles, believed on in tine world, 
received up into glor t . . " If Christ is the great God 
and creator of the universe, and all things were made 
by him; then to think that he came into this world with 
the greatest love and compassion for fallen man, to be 
shamefully treated, die on the cross and rise from the 
tomb to give us salvation; how important it must be 
that we value every word and command that he left us J 
This is beyond our comprehension and I know we do not 
fully appreciate the true greatness of our Lord.. 

After Jesus had risen from the dead he said, "All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". Can 
we realise what this means? No, we are too weak, too 
finite to grasp the immensity of this short statement. 
If we could only see a comparatively small part of his 
greatness and the promises that can be fulfilled for 
us, we would ever serve the Lord all our lives in sin- 
cerity and truth. What a privilege it is to be given 



10U THE PILGRIM 



the opportunity to serve the highest power of the uni- 
verse J It would be a wonderful thing to be promised, 
if we wo\£d live according to certain rules and regula- 
tions, to live for a thousand years; and if it were 
possible for man to meet the requirements by doing some 
great or difficult thing, I believe everyone would try. 
We would spend all ou^ living, we would work with all 
our strength, we would eat things unpalatable, if only 
we could live a little longer. 

Jesus does not ask us to do things impossible ♦ Even 
the weakest of men can do his will; and the promise is 
not to live a hundred, five hundred, or a thousand 

years; but to live forever on and on without end 

eternal. What an opportunity! How can anyone fail to 
take advantage of such a promise. We know the promise 
is sure because Jesus has the power to do all things. 
After nearly 2,000 years, history testifies to the 
reality of Christ, his miracles, and his resurrection. 
Can mankind be blind to such a revelation? Yes, man 
is blind — blinded by sin. Jesus came to take away 

that sin so that we might see the true light. " 

-because the darkness is past and the true light nox* 
f&ineth." We cannot hold on to sin and expect to see 
Christ or realize his greatness. ,! But if our gospel 
be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; In whom the 
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that 
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of 
Christ, vjho is the ima^e of God, should shine unto 
them." What do you think of Christ? If he is our 
great God and Creator with all power given to him, we 
are duty bound to serve him. All we can do for him 
our entire lives cannot merit even a glimpse of eternity. 
n Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that love him # u — Sonora, California 

Prayer must go along with Bible study. D.L. Moody 
once said, "The Bible read without must prayer 
makes an intellectual Christian, while a great 
deal of prayer with but little study of the Scrip- 
tures, will produce a fanatical Christian.—- Sel. 



THE PILGRIM 105 



REBEIilON IS SATANIC 

The spirit of rebellion is the oldest and no doubt 
the most devastating in its effects of all evils that 
have blighted and marred the family of mankind* 

It is seen in the home and results in the most un- 
savory family life. In the school the presence of it 
prevents the potential benefits of school training » 
Industrial and labor problems are multiplied by its 
ugly behavior. The world political problem is assum- 
ing monstrous proportions because of people wanting 
the substances and honors of this world as an end in 
themselves rather than finding their place in the pro- 
ductive and beneficial lines of life. 

Imagine, for instance, a person interested in print- 
ing going into a printers office and rather than asking 
for a job which would acquaint him with the printing 
business, insisting on a top-flight administrative or 
editorial office. On being refused he would go outside 
and begin to picket. Ridiculous, you would say. Not 
more so than the attitude many people are taking in 
various ares of life. 

Rebellion was an evil which had its origin in heaven. 
Lucifer, dissatisfied with his apparently high position, 
would not rest until he had poisoned and embittered 
other heavenly personalities in his determination to 
be like the Most High* Consequently he was cast out 
of heaven, he and his adherents. Ever since he has 
been rearing his ugly head of rebellion against God 
and everything that can possibly glorify God. 

This rebellious attitude, which is Satan-inspired 
and empowered, leaves in its wake spiritual havoc, 
tearing down the church. The consequence is an impov- 
erished generation who have heard very little of the 
contributions and benif its of the church but very much 
of faults, shortcomings, and failures of the church 
leaders and church members. 

We see in Numbers 16 how God deals with rebellion 
in the church ♦ God hates the very smell of it, in 
that it is satanic in origin. Korah, Dathan, and 
Abiram succeeded in inflaming and instigating leftist 



106 THE PILGRIM 



action against Moses, and apparently even the famlies 
of these men were turned against the leader Moses. How- 
ever, these men, as is usually the case, tried to hide 
their own evil motives and shortcomings by capitalizing 
on the lack in lives of the leaders. God was not blind- 
ed or deceived by the sinister motives of these rebels 
and dealt out judgment swift and sure. Note how even 
their families perished with them. What a tragedy when 
children are embittered by the bickering and dark sulk- 
ing attitude of parents who can't have their selfish 
way in the church. Here is seen the result. 

In Numbers 12 another sedition is noted. Miriam, 
the sister of Moses, was given swift judgment by being 
afflicted with leprosy. Only repentance saved her. 

We have in mind three ox the main causes of rebellion 
as seen in the majority of cases: (l) unsatisfactory 
experience vath Christ: (2) unwillingness to forsake 
sin: (3) an unsanctified zeal and lust of station. 

When folks do not come clean for God, Satan keeps 
them dissatisfied. Every little thing that comes a- 
long bothers and puzzles them. They are not used to 
taking things to the Lord. Satan succeeds in shewing 
them the "raw deal" they are getting from everyone. 
The hurts they get refuse to heal, and are open to in- 
fection, spiritual blood poisoning. When God doesn't 
satisfy them, they help the devil's destructive program 
along. 

Those not willing to. forsake sin look for and get 
plenty of help from the devil and his company in point- 
ing out all the faults 9f the ministers, bishops, and 
church officials, as well as most of the members, les, 
they are as good as many others in the church. When 
self is guilty, the enemy keeps the bitterness of the 
spiritual sins feeding the misery* 

Those in quest of leadership as an end in itself, 
though personally qualified, are in no position for 
the same because leadership comes not to those who seek 
it as such but to those who are faithful in the humble 
tasks of the Christian life. They do not, as illustra- 
ted earlier, apply for a position of leadership but 
apply themselves to the lowest humble tasks that the 



THE PILGRIM 107 



Lord has equipped them for. 

One could cite grievous cases where individuals who 
were not willing to deny themselves , yea, crucify them- 
selves, would sulk and bemoan the way the church used 
them, keeping them from having high positions in the 
church, and then using their influence to embitter oth- 
ers against the church. Not only were they defeated, 
but their families today are reaping the consequences 
of hurt feelings. Their portion seems to be that of 
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all theirs. 

These actions that proceed from a rebellious heart 
and have their effects on the life of the church, will 
not go unnoticed by God. Whether rebellion goes under 
the guise of conservatism or liberalism, God who knows 
the heart is not deceived for a moment* 

Certainly there are things that need to be objected 
to and protested against. But the spirit that exists 
in a concerned individual is a spirit far removed from 
the one which exists in a hurt, sensitive, honor-seeking 
and oftentimes sinful person. Look at the fruits (fami- 
lies) of those who are always pulling to the left or 
right. They usually tell or will yet tell the motive 
behind persons. 

Many under the guise of conservatism or liberalism 
show the same rebellious attitudein the way they voice 
their opinions. Remember the enemy of God is not at 
all particular which side you fall from, just so you 
miss the way of the cross. God hates self-assertion. 
That belongs to the devil. 

Sometimes those who have a chronic "unappreciated 
service " complex unwittingly become spiritual germ- 
carriers for Satan and communicate their sickness to 
young folks with whom they may be serving in the church. 

If we could see the end of the far-reaching results 
of some of our unholy ambitions and selfish desires, 
how we would change our attitude 1 

Lord, heal our leprosy of rebellion. 

-Gospel Harold, 195U 

Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your 
heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Psm. 31:2lu 



108 THE PILGRIM 



A CHRISTIAN 

Christian, by Dr. Johnson, is defined "a professor 
of the religion of Christ"; but in reality a Christian 
is more than a professor of Christianity. He is one 
who imbibes the Spirit, participates in the grace, and 
is obedient to the will of Christ, Christians may be 
considered as nominal and real. There are vast numbers 
who are called Christians, not because they possess 
any love for Christ, but because they happen to be born 
in a Christian country, educated by Christian parents 
and perhaps sometimes attend Christian worship. There 
are also many whose minds are well informed respecting 
the Christian system, who prefer it to every other, 
and who make an open profession of it$ and yet, after 
all, feel but little of the real power of Christianity. 

A real Christian is one tfiose understanding is en- 
lightened by the influences of divine grace, who is 
convinced of the depravity of his nature, who sees his 
own inability to help himself, who is taught to behold 
God as the chief good, the Lord Jesus as the only way 
to obtain felicity, and that the Holy Spirit is the 
grand agent in applying the blessing of the Gospel to 
his soul. His heart is renovated, and inclined to re- 
vere, honor, worship, trust in, and live to God. His 
affections are elevated above the world, and center in 
God alone. He embraces Him as His portion, loves Him 
supremely, and is zealous in the defense and support 
of His cause. His temper is regulated, his powers 
aroused to vigorous action, his thoughts spiritual, 
and his general deportment amiable and uniform. 

In comparison the true Christian character exceeds 
all others, as God understands it, as much as -the blaze 
of the meridian sun outshine the feeble light of the 
glowworm. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart ; and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first 
commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none 
other commandment greater than these", Mark 12:30-31* 

— Bible Monitor, 1956 



THE PILGRIM 109 



ETERNAL SECURITY 

The world and the nation are very concerned and often 
perplexed about something called "security. " Mutual 
benefit societies are organized to obtain it. Govern- 
ments pass laws to provide it. Unions force concessions 
to assure it. Insurance companies purport to sell it. 
let, despite all the interest, effort, advertising, 
these earthly "securities" remain very insecure. 

There is only one security in which we may safely 
trust. The name of it is "salvation." It is guaranteed 
by the highest Authority, the Almighty God. It is re- 
ceived through the Son of God, and by His spirit. When 
all the "securities" which man has devised have proved 
their inadequacy, the security which is found in Christ 
will still be in force. 

The Bible teaches eternal security. Jesus said, "I 
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." 
He said, "No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's 
hand," hake what you like of it, this Is eternal secur- 
ity. But it is predicated upon certain conditions. 
Jesus was speaking of those whom He called His sheep, 
as He said, "My sheep hear my voice, . . .and they fol- 
low me. " 

Now it is foolish to suppose that any saved person 
can commit willful sin, and still remain secure in the 
Lord. Jesus came to save His people "from their sins," 
not "in their sins." Judas walked with Jesus for three 
years, but when he sinned in betraying his Lord he was 
not a saved man. So he died, and "went to his own 
place." Peter was not a saved man when he was cursing 
and lying and denying Jesus. He was a backslider, and 
had he died in that condition, he must have been just 
I as lost as was Judas. But when he realized what he had 
j done, "he went out and wept bitterly." Peter repented, 
and this was the necessary prelude to his restoration. 

"My sheep hear my voice,. . . and they follow me." 
It is inconceivable that Jesus should lead into sin. 
So when a child of God falls into sin, it is because 
he has left off following Jesus. He has heard some 
other voice ; he has turned aside into another way. A 
sinning soul is never a saved soul in the Gospel sense 



110 THE PILGRIM 



of the word. So it was not of such whom Jesus was 
speaking when He said, "they shall never perish." 

Jesus said, "No man is able to pluck them out of my 
Father's hand # n No man or 'group of men, no nation or 
coalition of nations, not the whole world, nor all the 
powers of hell can -destroy your salvation and security 
in Christ Jesus, so long as you choose to follow Him. 
But the way is left open for any who choose otherwise 
to go out of their own volition, and to turn unto their 
own way. As soon as this happens they have forfeited 
their security. 

It is the devil's business to twist and distort this 
doctrine of "eternal security" to mean "once saved, 
always saved." Because of this distortion many have 
avoided the truth of eternal security. Some have been 
deceived by this devil's doctrine of "sinning saints" 
(the very words are an anomaly). God has only one an- 
swer to them: "Remember therefore from whence thou 
art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." Re- 
pentance, restitution, obedience: it was so you first 
received your salvation, and it is so that you may ob- 
tain restoration. These are God's requirements. 

So follow Jesus, and rest and rejoice in your eter- 
nal security, knowing certainly that "He which hatn 
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day 
of Jesus Christ." 

The sheep who follow Him are "Kept by the power of 
God unto salvation." "And they shall never perish." 

-Gospel Herald, 1957 



NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING, 1959 

The Old Brethren Church will hold their Annual 
Meeting, the Lord willing, at the Salida church 
May 15—17. Friday will be counsel day} Saturday 
and Sunday public preaching. 

All of the members are invited and urged to attend, 
also a hearty welcome will be extended to our 
friends and neighbors who wish to come. 



THE PILGRIM 111 



IMPENITENCE 
(Condensed from the lectures of C. G. Finney, 18U8) 

WHAT IMPENITENCE IS. 

1. It is everywhere in the Bible represented as a heinous 
sin, as in Matt. XI. 20-24: "Then began he to upbraid the 
cities -wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they 
repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorasinl woe unto thee, Beth- 
saidaj for if the mighty works which were done in you, had 
been done in Tyre and .Sid on, they would have repented long ago 
in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Judgment than for 
you. And thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt 
be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have 
been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have re- 
mained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be 
more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, 
than for thee." Here, as elsewhere, impenitence is represented 
as most aggravated wickedness. 

2. Impenitence is a phenomenon of the will, and consists 

in the will 1 s cleaving to self-indulgence under light. It con- 
sists in the will's pertinacious adherence to the gratification 
of self, in despite of all the light with which the sinner is 
surrounded. It is not. as has been said, a passive state nor 
a mere negation, nor the love of sin for its own sake; but it 
is an active and obstinate state of the will, a determined 
holding on to that course of self-seeking which constitutes sin, 
not from a love to sin, but for the sake of the gratification. 

si£Xr?n r + ^ gh *J 1S ?t ? ourse > aggravated wicked-ess. Con- 
sidered in this view, it is easy to account for all the waes 
and denunciations that the Saviour uttered a^nst it. iTel 
the claims of God are revealed to the mind, it must neoes^rilv 
yield to them, Or strengthen itself in sin'. It^t? at it Y 

This%!^rVh Sel ^ UP %r? StrU ^ le t0 «** Ke^Jk! of duty 
?^ strengthening self in sin under light is the particular ** 
form of sm ^ich we call impenitence, ill sinners are Wilt v 

SOME Times TEtf AR3 E.PLI3D IN BflUiEEJGE. 

As it essentially consists in a cleaving to self-indulgence 
under light, it implies, — 

1* That the impenitent sinner obstinately prefers his own 
petty and momentary gratification to all the other and higher 
interests of God and the universe; that because these gratifi- 
cations are his own, or the gratification of self, he there- 
fore gives them the preference over all the infinite interests 
of all other beings. 

2. It implies the deliberate and actual setting at naught,, 
not only of the interests of God and of the universe, as of no 
value, but it implies also a total disregard, and even contempt, 
of the rights of all other heings. It is a practical denial 



112 THE PILGRIM 



that they have any rights or interest to be promoted. 

3* It implies a rejection of the authority of God, and con- 
tempt for it as well as a spurning of his law and gospel* 

4. It implies a present justification of all past sin. The 
sinner who holds on to his self-indulgence* in the presence of 
the light of the gospel, really in heart justifies all his past 
rebellion. 

5. Consequently present impenitence, especially under the 
light of the glorious gospel, is a heart- justifi cation of all 
sin. It is taking sides deliberately with sinners against God, 
and is a virtual endorsing of all sins of earth and hell. This 
principle is clearly implied in Christ's peaching, Matt* XXIII. 
34—36: "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise 
men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; 
and some of them shall ye soourge in your synagogues, , and per- 
secute them from city to city; that upon you may come all the 
righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous 
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew 
between the temple and the altar* Verily, I say unto you, All 
these things shall come uppn this generation* n 

6* Present impenitence, under all the light and experience 
which the sinner now has, involves the guilt of all his past sin* 
If he still holds on to it, he in heart justifies it. If he in 
heart justifies it, he virtually reconmits it. If in the pre- 
sence of accumulated light, he still persists in sin, he virtu- 
ally endorses, recommits, and is again guilty of all past sin* 

It implies a total want of confidence in God; want of confi- 
dence in his character and government; in his works and ways. 
It virtually charges God with usurpation, falsehood, and selfish- 
ness in all their odious forms* It is a making war on every 
moral attribute of God, and is utter enmity against him. It is 
mortal enmity, and would of course always manifest itself in 
sinnerc, as it did when Christ was upon the earth. When he 
poured the light upon them, they hardened themselves until they 
were ripe for murdering him. This is the true nature of impeni- 
tence* It involves the guilt of a mortal enmity against God* 

SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS -OR EVIDENCES OF IMPENITENCE. 

1. A manifested indifference to the sins of men is evidence 
of an impenitent and sin— justifying state of mind. It is impos- 
sible that a penitent soul should not be deeply and heartily 
opposed to all sin; and if heartily opposed to it, it is impos- 
sible that he should not manifest this opposition, for the heart 
controls the life by a law of necessity* 

2* Of course a manifest heart-complaoency in sin or in sinners 
is sure evidence of an impenitent state of mind. "He that will 
be the friend of the world is the enemy of God." Heart-complac- 
ency in sinners is that friendship with the world that is enmity 
against God* 

3. A manifest want of zeal in opposing sin and in promoting 
reformation, is a sure indication of an impenitent state of mind* 
The soul that has been truly convinced of sin, and turned from 



THE PILGRIM 1 13 

sin to the love and service of God, cannot but manifest a deep 
interest in every effort to expel sin out of the world. Such 
a soul cannot but be zealous in opposing sin, and in building 
up and establishing righteousness in the earth. 

4. A manifest want of sympathy with God in respect to his 
government, providential and moral, is an evidence of impenit- 
ence of heart. A penitent soul, as has been said, will and 
must of course justify God in all his ways. This is implied in 
genuine repentance. A disposition to complain of the strictness 
and rigor of God's commandment s —to speak of the providence of 
God in a complaining manner, to murmur at its allotments., and 
repine at the circumstances in which it has placed a soul, is 

to evince an impenitent and rebellious state of mind. 

5. A manifest want of confidence in the character, faithful- 
ness, and promises of God, is also sure evidence of an impeni- 
tent state of mind. A distrust of God in any respect cannot 
consist with a penitent state of heart, 

6. The absence of peace of mind is sure evidence of an im- 
pentitent state. The penitent soul must have peace of consci- 
ence, because penitence is a state of conscious rectitude. It 
also must have peace with God, in view of, and through confidence 
in, the atonement of Christ. Repentance is the turning from an 
attitude of rebellion against God, to a state of universal sub- 
mission to his will, rjrid approbation of it as wise and good* 
This must of course bring peace to the soul. When therefore 
there is a rcanifest want of peace, there is evidence of impeni- 
tence of heart. 

7. Every unequivocal manifestation of selfishness is a con- 
clusive evidence of present impenitence. Repentance, as we have 
seen, consists in the turning of the soul from selfishness to 
benevolence. It follows of course that the presence of selfish- 
ness, or a spirit of self-indulgence, is conclusive evidence of - 
an impenitent state of mind. Repentance implies the denial of 
self; the denial of subjection of all the appetites, passions, 
and propensities to the law of the intelligence. Therefore a 
manifest spirit of self— indulgence, a disposition to seek the 
gratification of the appetites and passions, such as the sub- 
jection of the will to the use of tobacco, of alcohol, or to 
any of the natural or artificial appetites, under light, and in 
opposition to the lav/- of the reason, is conclusive evidence of 
present impenitence. I say, "under light, and in opposition to 
the law of the reason." Such articles as those just named, are 
sometimes used medicinally, and because they are regarded as 
useful, and even indispensable to health under certain circum- 
stances. In such cases their use may be a duty. But they are 
more frequently used merely to gratify appetite, and in the face 
cf a secret conviction that they are not only unnecessary, but 
absolutely injurious. This is indulgence that constitutes sin. 
It is impossible that such indulgence should consist with repent- 
ance. Such a mind must be in impenitence, or there is no such 
thing as impenitence. 

8. A spirit of self-gratification is another evidence of 
impenitence. This manifestation must be directly the opposite 



11U THE PILGRIM 



of that which the truly penitent soul mil make. 

9* A spirit of excuse-making for neglect of duty is also a 
conclusive evidence of an impenitent heart. Repentance implies 
the giving up of all excuses for disobedience, and a hearty 
obedience in all things. Of course, where there is a manifest 
disposition to make excuses for not being what and all God re- 
quires us to be, it is certain that there is, and must be an 
impenitent state of mind* It is war with God* 

10. A want of candor upon any moral subject relating to 
self, also betrays an impenitent heart* A penitent state of the 
will is committed to know and to embrace all truth. Therefore 

a prejudiced, uncandid state of mind must be inconsistent with 
penitence, and a manifestation of prejudice must evince present 
impenitence. An unwillingness to be searched, and to have all 
our words and ways brought into the light of truth, and to be 
reproved when we are \n error, isa sure indication of an imDeni- 
tent state of mind* n $very one that doeth evil hateth the light, 
neither comet h to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved* 
But he that doeth truth comet h to the light, that his deeds 
may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." 

11. Only partial reformation of life, also indicates that 
the heart has not embraced the whole will of God. When there 
is a disposition manifested to indulge in some sin, no matter 
how little, it is sure evidence of impenitence of heart. The 
penitent soul rejects sin as sin; of course every kind of degree 
of iniquity is put away, loathed, and abhorred. "Whoso keepeth 
the whole law and yet offends in one point, is guilty of all;" 
that is, if a man in one point unequivocally sins or disobeys 
God, it is certain that he truly from the heart obeys him noth- 
ing. He has not an obedient state of mind* If he really had 
supreme respect to God*s authority, he could not but obey him 
in all things. If therefore it be found, that a professor of 
penitence does not manifest the spirit of universal obedience; 
if in some things he is manifestly self-indulgent, it may be 
known that he is altogether yet in sin, and that he is still 

"in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity," 

12. Neglect or refusal to confess and make restitution, so 
far as opportunity and ability are enjoyed, is also a sure in- 
dication of an unjust and impenitent state of mind. It would 
seem ir possible for a penitent sould not at once to see and be 
impressed with the duty of making confession and resitiution 

to those who have been injured by him. When this is refused or 
neglected, there must be impenitence. The heart controls the 
life by a law of necessity; when, therefore, there is a heart 
that confesses and forsakes sin, it is impossible that this 
should not appear in outward confession and restitution* 

13. A spirit of covetousness, or grasping after the world, 

is a sure indication of impenitence* "Covetousness is idolatry." 
It is a hungering and thirsting after, and devotion to this 
world. Acquisitiveness indulged must be positive proof of an 
im aite t state of mind. If any man love the world, how dwelL- 
eth the love of God in him? 



THE PILGRIM 115 



14. A want of interest in, and compassion for, sinners, is 

a sure indication of impenitence* If one has seen his own guilt 
and ruin, and has found himself sunk in the horrible pit and 
miry clay of his own abomination, and has found the way of esc- 
ape, to feel deeply for sinners, to manifest a great compassion 
and concern for them, and a zeal for their salvation, is as 
natural as to breathe. If this sympathy and zeal are not mani- 
fested, we may rely upon it that there is still impenitence. 
There is a total want of that love to God and souls that is al- 
ways implied in repentance. Seest thou a professed convert to 
Christ whose compassions are not stirred, and whose zeal for 
the salvation of souls is not awakened? Be assured that you 
behold a hypocrite* 

15. Spiritual sloth or indolence is another evidence of an 

impenitent heart. The soul that thoroughly turns to God, and 
consecrates itself to him, and wholly commits itself to promote 
his glory in the building up of his kingdom, will be, must be> 
anything but slothful. A disposition to spiritual idleness, or 
to lounging or indolence of any kind, is an evidence that the 
heart is impenitent. I might pursue this subject to an indefi- 
nite length; but what has been said must suffice for this course 
of instruction, and is sufficient to give you the clue by which 
you may detect the windings and delusions of the imoenitent 
heart. Next: FAITH AND UNBELIEF 

GRACE BETTER THAN GOLD 

Riches have made good men worse, but they never 
made bad men better . 

Gold in your bag will make you greater, but grace 
in the heart will make you better. 

A rich man lives by his wealth, a righteous man 
lives by faith. 

It is a great mercy to have a portion in the world, 
but to have the world for a portion is a great misery. 

Our affections were made for things above us, not 
for things around us. 

Inward piety is the best friend to outward prosper- 
ity, though prosperity be the enemy to inward piety. 

Some look upon gain as the highest godliness, and 
not upon godliness as the highest gain. 

Labour more for inward holiness, than outward happi- 
ness; more for the seed of grace than the bag of gold; 
more for inward piety, than outward plenty; more for 
heavenly conversation, than for earthly possession. 

"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for 
that meat which endure th unto everlasting life, which 
the Son- of Man shall give unto you." Jno. 6:2?.— Sel. 



116 THE PILGRIM 



Ptstoriral 



THE CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY 

From the churches of Asia we proceed to the des- 
cription of those of Greece, and among these our first 
notice shall be directed to Athens. A vain, and light, 
and learned city, the theatre of lively wit and loose 
and careless ridicule, the school of intellectual 
subtlety and disputatiousness, the very Pantheon of 
Polytheism, where the utmost efforts of human genius 
had been exhausted to celebrate a baseless and gaudy 
superstition — such, assuredly, was not a place where 
the homeliness of the Gospel could hope to find favor. 
More curious in the pursuit of theories than in the 
investigation of facts, the Athenian philosopher (of 
whatever sect) would not readily embrace a faith which 
required him to believe so much and allowed him to 
speculate so little; and, we may add, that he would 
bring to the inquiry a mind either hardened by previous 
habits of universal skepticism, or fraught with some 
sort of theistical notions inconsistent with the truths 
he was called upon to receive. For these, ana similar 
reasons, Christianity made, for some years, very trif- 
ling progress at Athens. We read, indeed, of a suc- 
cession of bishops, beginning with Dionysius the 
Areopagite, the convert of St. Paul. But it appears 
that wuadratus, on his accession in Adrian's time, 
found the church in a state verging on apostacy, and 
to him, perhaps may belong the honor of restoring, if 
we should not rather. say, of establishing it. After 
that period we find it more flourishing; and we have 
the authority of Origen, in his second book against 
Celsus, for believing that, about the middle of the 
second century, the Christians of Athens were eminent 
for their piety; and their industry, if not learning, 
is attested by the publication of three apologies for 
their faith. Two were written by Quadratus and a con- 
temporary philosopher named Aristides, and were pre- 
sented or dedicated to Adrain. The third was published 
several years afterwards, by another philosopher, 



THE PILGRIM 117 



named Athenagoras, and is still extant. 

To the Philippians an epistle was addressed by Poly- 
carp, about 108, A.D., attesting, at least, the perma- 
nency of that apostolical Church; and that that of 
Thessalonica had also been perpetuated, and another 
subsequently established at Larissa, is proved by the 
circumstance that Antoninus Pius addressed copies of 
his 'Order of Toleration 1 to be governors of those 
cities. 

Tracing the footsteps of the apostle of the Gentiles? 
from Athens, we proceed to Corinth. We still find 
ourselves surrounded by graceful temples and statues, 
consecrated to the deities of Paganism. We observe 
the same elegance of opulence, the same abandonment to 
fastidious luxury, but there is this difference, that 
the character of the people, with less renown for wit, 
vanity, and ambitious pretension, is even more distin- 
guished for immorality. Not so warmly attached to the 
keen and fruitless contest of the schools, the Corin- 
thians rather sought their happiness in the vulgar 
excitements of sensuality. It is easier to remove many 
moral imperfections than to convince the self-suffici- 
ency ox wit. And this may have been one of the reasons 
which decided St. Paul to select Corinth as his prin- 
cipal residence in Greece. The early years of this 
Cnurch are not free from reproach; but we observe that 
they are distinguished rather by the spirit of dissent 
sion and contumacy than by that of immorality — it 
retained the vices of the Greek character after it 
had thrown off those of the Corinthian. Cephas and 
Apollos divided the very converts of the apostle, and, 
about fifty years afterwards, the disunion had so far 
increased as to call for the friendly interference of 
the Church of Rome. About 95* A, J., St. Clement, the 
bishop, addressed to them his first geniuine Epistle, 
which has fortunately been preserved to us, and is 
probably the most ancient of uninspired Christian 
writings. The author is related to be the same Clement 
whom St. Paul mentions as one ! of his fellow laborers 
whose names are in the Book of Life. 1 The dissensions 
of the Corinthians seem to have entirely regarded the 



118 ■ THE PILGRIM 



discipline, not the doctrine of the Church; they had 
dismissed from the ministry certain presbyters, as 
St. Clement asserts, undeservedly, and much confusion 
was thus introduced. For the purpose of composing it, 
five deputies were sent from Home, the bearers of the 
Epistle. 

We should here observe, that the epistle is written 
in the name of 'the Church sojourning at Rome,' not in 
that of the Roman bishop; that its character is of ex- 
hortation, not of authority; and that it is an answer 
to a communication originally made by the Church of 
Corinth. The episcopal form of government was clearly 
not yet here established, probably as being adverse to 
the republican spirit of Greece, This spirit, natur- 
ally extending from political to religious affairs, 
may have acted most strongly in the most numerous 
society; and to it influence, so dangerous to the con- 
cord of an infant community, we may perhaps attribute 
the evils of which we have spoken. At what precise 
moment the converts of Corinth had the wisdom to dis- 
cover that their unity in love would be better secured 
by a stricter form of Church government, we are not 
informed, but about seventy years after these dissen- 
sions, we find them flourishing under the direction 
of a pious and learned bishop, Dionysius. This vener- 
able person is chiefly celebrated for his seven Epis- 
tles called, by Eusebius, Catholic, — two of these 
were addressed to the Churches of Rome and Athens, two 
other to those in Pontus and Bithynia, two to those of 
Gortyna and Gnossos in Crete, and one to that at Lace- 
daemon. It is thus, incidentally, that we are furni- 
shed with our best evidence of the gradual growth of 
Christianity. From Athens we proceed to Corinth, from 
Corinth to Lacedaemon; established in the capital, we 
advance into the towns and villages; and we doubt not 
that, at that early period, the wild mountaineers of 
Taygetus received that faith which they have through 
so many centuries so devotedly preserved, and which is, 
at length, confirmed to them forever. 

— Waddington f s History of the Church 



THE PILGRIM 119 



MOTHER, TELL ME OF THE ANGELS 

Mother, tell me of the angels, 
Tell me of that joyous band; 

Tell me of their blest employment 
In the glorious spirit land. 

Tell me, mother, -where is father? 

Is he on that blissful shore, 
Where he said we'd dwell forever, 

And sad partings come no more? 

I am weary waiting, mother; 

Long ago he went away, 
And he said he'd bring back brother; 

Oh , how sweetly we would play! 

Mother, when I wake at morning, 
Them I think dear father's near. 

But I wait till twilight's coming, 
Still my father is not here. 

Mother, let me go and meet him 
O'er the bounding billow's foam; 

Yes, I know that we shall greet him 
In the angel's heavenly home* 

There we'll part again, oh never, 

But, with joy no tongue can tell, 
We shall live together ever 
Where angelic spirits dwell* 
- 

Angels, blessed, shining angels 

Soon will bear us to the shore 
Where the wicked cease from troubling, 
And sad partings come no more # 
— Selected 
May, 1957 Vindicator 



120 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
—FIRST CORINTHIANS- 
DATE AND PLACE.— The epistle was written at or near 
Ephesus, before Pentecost (16:8), and probably in A.D. 
57 • It was written near the end of St. Paul's second 
and long visit to Ephesus on his third missionary jour- 
ney (Ac. 19:1,10; 20:31)> shortly before his departure 
for Greece (9: 21). 

THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH. -Corinth, destroyed by 
Mummius (B.C. llj.6), was restored by Julius Caesar 
(B.C. U6); and in a century it had became the political 
and commercial capital of Greece. As such it was the 
abode of the procounsul Gallio (Ac. 18:12), With its 
luxury and its worship Aphrodite, it became a byword 
for licentiousness. The Corinthian Christians had been 
rescued from this (ch. 6:10,11); but the evil influence 
was always there (ch. 5). The planting of the gospel 
in this corrupt centre was the work of St # Paul (3:6, 
10; U:l£j 16:15 j 1:16). He was probably the first 
Christian to enter Corinth (c. A.D. 5>2) • 

STYLE.- No epistles of St Paul illustrate the pecul- 
iarities of his style better than the two to the Corin- 
thians. He dictated his letters and thu3 speaks rather 
than writes to the recipiants of them. In this way his 
letters have become a mixture of oratory, conversation, 
and correspondence, which is unlike any other collec- 
tion of letters that is known to us. 

OCCASION.— Some five years after the founding of the 
Corinthian church, St Paul was moved by three things to 
write the first epistle— the news of the monstrous case 
of incest, perhaps brought by Stephanas and others 
(16:17) j the news of the factions and kindred evils, 
brought by some of the household of Chloe (1:11); and 
the letter from the Corinthians (7:1). 

CONTENTS. -After the usual salutation and thanksgiv- 
ing (1:1-9), he deals with the factions -(1:104*: 20) and 
impurity (U: 21-6: 20). He then answers their questions 
about marriage (ch. 7), heathen feasts (8:1-11:1), 
public worship and spiritual gifts (11:2-1U:1|0), and 
expounds the doctrine of the resurrection (ch. 15). 
He ends with charges and salutations (ch. 16). These 
contents are more varied than those of any other epistle. 

— Bible Encyclopedia 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 mm, 19,59 NQ« 6 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2; 11 

REDEMPTION TIDE 

Dewn from the summits pf mountains , 

Up from the valleys of shadows, 
In from the far, scattered places, 

The prairies and wide sea-meadows, . 
Fuller and brighter and stronger 

.The tide of redemption rolls. 
Reaping can wait no longer: 

This is the harvest of souls. 

Coming with singing and laughter, 

Coming with joy unconfined, 
The poor and the weak and weary, 

The halt and the lame and the., blindj 
Thronging from every nation,, 

Praising the grace that sufficed 
' For a marvelous, perfect salvation; 

This is the triumph of Christ. 

Through with the world and its strivings, 

Through with its sorrow and woe, 
Gathering into the Kingdom, 

Publishing peace as they go, 
Millions, and uncounted millions, 

Spreading the tidings abroad* 
Singing of utmost salvation: 

This is the glory of God* 

- ■' • 



— Selected 

■ 



'■' ' i/' 1 



122 THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM is a religious magarine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interest* of the member* of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $130 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THE TRANSFIGURATION 

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his 
brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and 
was there transfigured before themj and his face did shine as 
the sun, and his raiment -was white as the light* 

And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Eli as talking 
with him# Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lcrd it is 
good for us to be here* if thou wilt, let us make here three 
tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Ellas* 

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed 
them; and behold a voice out of the cloud j which said, This 
is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye him« rt 
Matt. 17;1~5. 

The evangelists Mark and Luke also record this marvel- 
ous event , but we are not told vhy it was done. It 
was one of the outstanding experiences which Peter and 
James and John had with their Lord which was not shared 
by all of the twelve. It was exceedingly impressive 
and is cited by the Apostle Peter many years later in 
his second general epistle to the church, as a proof 
of Jesus 1 Sonship to the Father and the divine authority 
of his gospel. For he says, "We were eyewitnesses of 
his majesty. For he received from God the Father 
honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him 
from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came 
from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy 
hount. ,! 

While this was indisputable evidence to those who 
witnessed it of Jesus 1 Sonship and the heavenly author- 
ity of his Word, Peter ■ further adds, "We have also a 
more sure Word of prophesy whereunto ye do well that 
ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark 
place. . . n for "holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost," In this statement Peter 
seems to say, that the witness of the Holy Ghost through 
the prophets is greater proof than his own eyewitness. 
This might be understandable in*" that the Holy Ghost 



•- THE PILGRIM 123 



inspired prophecies of Jesus 1 coming and ministry, 
hundreds of years before it come to pass, and its wit- 
nessed fulfillment by his chosen disciples, would be 
greater proof to more persons than the personal witness 
of three men to what they saw and heard on such an ex- 
clusive occasion. 

It will be noticed that this event took place short- 
ly after Jesus asked his disciples, "Whom do men say 
that I the Son of Man am?", and Peter's confession, - 
"Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God." (Matt. 
l6:l5-20 # ). And then we are told, "From that time 
forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that 
he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the 
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, 
and be raised again the third day." 

We are told that this questioning of the disciples 
and confession of Peter occurred near C'aesarea Philippi 
just before Jesus began his last journey from Galilee 
to Jerusalem where he was to be crucified. It is 
thought to have taken four or six months to complete 
this journey and at least three times on the -way Jesus 
told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to 
die, but they refused to believe him because they 
thought he was their Messiah King and that he waa' going 
to Jerusalem to become king and restore their ancient 
kingdom. Although it was abundantly told them in the 
prophets that their Messiah and Redeemer was to die for 
their sins their minds could not as yet receive this 
truth. They could not understand a crucified and risen 
Lord nor the heavenly "nature of his kingdom. Indeed 
it appears that only Mary, the sister of Laaarus, be- 
lieved his word that he would be put to death, and 
anointed his body unto his burial^ and because of this, 
Jesus said, "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached 
throughout the whole world, this also that she hath 
done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Mk. lii;9. 
" Jesus knew that he had come Into the world to die 
for sin, but he withheld this from his disciples until 
the time when he began his last journey to Jerusalem 
to accomplish it. He also knew their unbelief which 
was evidenced by Peter rebuking him in the way; by 



12U 5 THE PILGRIM 



their enthusiasm to make him king when he entered Jeru- 
salem, and by Peter's, attempt to defend him with the 
sword in the garden when the mob came to take him. Be- 
cause of this unbelief it seems possible that the trans- 
figuration and what occurred with it may have been to 
further convince the disciples that Jesus was to die, 
and to strengthen them in their great disappointment 
and frustration when it became a reality, and also to 
* give them a glimpse of Jesus ' true nature and heavenly 
glory which far transcends the earthly. Luke 9*30, 
recording- this same event, says, "And, behold, there 
talked with him two men, which were Moses: and Elias: 
who appeared in glory and spake of his decease which 
he should accomplish at Jerusalem." This would be 
further proof to them that He was to die at Jerusalem, 
and of the reality of the resurrection. 

All of the ceremonial worship of the law typified 
that it would require the shedding of blood or the 
death of an innocent victim to atone for the sin of 
the guilty, and it was also long foretold by the holy 
prophets. 

It is frequently said that Jesus "offered" himself 
to Israel to be their king on the occasion of his 
final entry into Jerusalem^ but they rejected him and 
he "withdrew" the offer. The implications in this 
statement raise a very important question: Could 
Jesus, or would he, offer himself to his people in 
any other manner than what was foretold of him in the 
Scriptures? The slain lamb and the blood on the door- 
posts of their houses in Egypt, was a type of the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. 
Isaiah 53, written 700 years before Jesus was born, 
prophesied of his suffering and death in vivid detail, 
and says that his soul was made an offering for sin; 
and- that God would see of the travail of his soul 
"and be satisfied (with the offering). Luke 9:52 
says, "When the time came that he should be received 
U£, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." 
And in John 12j2?, after he had arrived in Jerusalem 
at the end of his journey, we hear him say, "Now is 
nor soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save 



THE PILGRIM 125 



me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto 
this hour , » When Peter attempted to defend Him ' in 
the garden, He said, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now 
pray to my Father, and he shall presently giv6 me 
more than ^welve legions of angels? but how then shall 
the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be." 

These and many other Scriptures show plainly that 
the promised Redeemer would suffer and die for Israeli 
sin, and for the whple wopld, before he would reign 
as king. But the disciple were' carnal, and did not 
as yet know heavenly tilings, and consequently could 
not understand this, Jesus 1 conversation with the 
two disciples on road to Emmaus on the day of his 
resurrection clearly shows what their expectation in 
him was, and that they did not understand the Scrip- 
tures concerning him— they said, "But we trusted it 
had been he which should have delivered Israel: and 
beside all this, today is the third day since these 
things were done # . . then he said unto them. *0 fools, 
and slow of heart to believe a ll that the proph ets 
have spoken ; Ought not ChristTto have suffered these 
things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at 
Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in 
all the scriptures the things concernig himself . . m 
And he said unto them, these are the words which I 
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all 
things must be fulfilled, which were written in the f . 
law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, 
concerning me. Luke 21;: 21-27; Uu 

In the light of these Scriptures and Jesus 1 appli- 
cation of them, is ,it any wonder that Peter should 
say, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where - 
unto ye do well that ye take heed." 

The appearance of Moses and ELias with Jesus in 
the transfiguration, talking with him of his decease 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem, shows that 
they had an interest in his atonement and the glory 
that should follow, and no doubt was to further im- 
press the disciples with the truth of what He had 
tried to show them in the way, and help to prepare 
them to endure it when it would come to pass. 



126 THE PILGRIM 



Moses had died and was buriqd fifteen hundred years 
before j and Elias (Elijah) was caught up to heaven 
without seeing death seven htindred years before) but 
now they are alive and appear with Jesus in glory, and 
converse with him of his long prophesied sacrificial 
death which he would soon accomplish at Jerusalem, 
In view of all of this, it seems strange to us now 
that they questioned among themselves what the rising 
from the dead should mean. 

By giving careful study to the temptations with 
which Satan tried Jesus, it can be seen that a very 
great part of them were calculated to tempt him to 
accept the kingship in a worldly kingdom, and use his 
regal powers for his own benefit and comfort instead 
of the determined purpose for which he came into the 
world, to save lost sinners from death, by giving his 
own life for theirs. The temptation to make stones 
into bread, to cast himself down from the pinacle of 
the temple, the offer of all the kingdoms of the world, 
the enthusiasm of the people (which probably included 
his own disciples) to make him king when he rode into 
Jerusalem on the asses colt, and lastly the taunts of 
his -persecutors to "Come down from the cross", appear 
to have been temptations to induce him to save himself 
and bear rule and reign without first making the atone- 
ment. Had this occurred, there would have been no re-* 
deraption and no resurrection from the dead. 

This spirit still persists in all carnally minded 
persons today. The cross is an offence to them* They 
would ignore the reality of sin because it is condemn- 
ing. Carnal man wants the *bles sing, and the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, but he is unwilling to 
submit to God's way, the way of the cross, to obtain it. 
We may die with. Jesus to sin and share in the glory of 
his resurrection and reign, h or we must die in our sins 
without him and perish eternally. 

For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to 
God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, 
we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we 
also joy in, God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
we have now ^received the atonement,— D,F,W, 



THE PILGRIM 12£ 



THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS . . 
By J, <I« Cover 

John the Baptist introduces the doctrine of baptisms, 
— we read: "I indeed baptize you with water unto re- 
pentance j but he that 'cpmeth after me is mightier than 
I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize 
you with the Holy Ghost and with fire," We will briefly 

consider: ' '* " 

water Baptism. ■■ • 

John the Baptist baptised all' who desired, him with 

water unto repentance for the remission of sins, Mark 

1:U« "They came to him confessing their sins" —a 

proof of their repentance. Jesus upon being baptised 

by John received the Holy Ghost, who led him to be 

tempted of the Devil in the wilderness, Matt. 1|:1. 

Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize with water and 

the record says, "Jesus made and baptized more disciples 

than John (though Jesus himself baptized not but his 

disciples)". Jesus evidently instructed his disciples 

to baptize the people in the same manner as he himself 

was baptized by John. Jesus says to his disciples "Go 

ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in 

the name of the. Father, and of the -Son, and of the Holy 

Ghost." From these instructions we can well conclude 

a three in one immersion of three dips to honor each 

person of the Holy Trinity. It was important to the 

early Church in chosing an. apostle to replace Judas 

that "beginning from the ba ptism of John unto that same 

day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained 

to be a witness with us of his resurrection." Act 1:22. 

The Bible definition of the word baptism is immersion 

as taught in Acts 8:38*39» The eunuch went into the 

water and came up out of the water. While in the water 

with Philip he was buried with Christ by baptism unto 

death, as we read, "Know ye not, that so many of us were 

baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. 

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, 

that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the 

glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in 

newness of life. For if we have been planted together 



128 THE PILGRIM 



in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the 
likeness of his resurrection. Roman 6:3,U*5>. To be 
planted together in the likeness of his death, reminds 
us of Jesus' death upon the cross whan Jesus bowed his 
head and gave up the Ghost. St» John 19O0. Kneeling 
in the water at the time of baptism is very appropriate 
and important that we be praying as Jesus did while in 
the water being baptized. Luke 3*21. "For this cause 
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Eph. 3:15* "Bow myself before God, Mi 6:6. So fitting 
that we show our complete subjection and reverance to 
the Triune Godhead] Baptism is a symbol of death, 
burial and resurrection. In water baptism we have an 
outward act of obedience accompanied by the sincere mind 
of the believer as "The likened figure viiereunto even 
baptism doth now save us (not the putting away of the 
filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience 
toward God ." In this baptism by water~we follow the 
example of Jesus, recognise John's baptism heaven ap- 
proved and being forgiven of our sins, be prepared for 
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit our Reprover, Inter- 
preter, Guide and Companion. 

A watery grave for man of sin; 

A type we understanding, 
A oonsoienoe clear, and more to win; 

A bright and happy landing. 

Three time to bow to Three In One; 

As once we kneel before Him, 
Praying his holy will be done; 

For mercy we implore Him. 

That Jesus send the Holy Dove; 

That once upon him resting; 
That ho redeem us by his love, 

And start our time of testing* 

To feel the hands upon us laid, 

And hear the earnest praying; 
Our faith and trust on God is stayed, 

To keep us safe from straying* 

To rise to walk in life new born; 

The narrow way be climbing; 
To praise the Lord for each new morn, 

The perfect way of timing* 



THE PILGRIM 129 



To walk by faith aids to us sent, 

Till we at last all glorious; 
Free from our grave, by heaven rent; 

God's holy Bride victorious* 

«* Star Route, Sonora, California 
Next; HOLY GHOST B APTISM. 

A SERMON BY ELDER JOHN KLINE, 186U 

TEXT.— "And when* they saw it, they all murmured, 
saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is 
a sinner* l! 

The Bible is a unit. The sum of its love and truth 
culminates in the declaration that "the Son of man came 
to seek and to save that which was lost." The portion 
of the chapter read in your hearing, vhich immediately 
precedes my text, is a sufficient introduction to it* 
The history of Zaccheus therein given is, or should be, 
familiar to all* But my text may comprise some instruc- 
tive and comforting truth to us, \hich we, like those 
who attended the steps and heard the words of the Lord 
in the flesh, may not so readily apprehend* 

The disciples were deeply impressed with the sinless 
purity of their great Teacher, B ut they did not as 
yet understand the character of his mission. They could 
not rid their minds of the thought that his coming was 
for the purpose of extablishing, in some way, they knew 
not how, an earthly reign of power and glory which would 
eclipse all that earth had ever beheld. Hence we read 
that at one time they wanted to take him by force, and 
make him a king. At another time the mother of two of 
his disciples interceded in behalf of her two sons that 
the one might sit on his right and the other on his left 
in his kingdom. What sublime visions of worldly glory 
she had; and how deeply were her vain imaginations re- 
buked! "Ye know not what ye ask." 

These considerations aid us in our efforts to appre- 
hend the character of the impediments and obstacles in 
the way of our Savior's glorious work of love. And here 
springs up a thought which I will dwell upon for a little, 
I can not avoid the belief, forced upon me as it is by 
what I see daily and have seen, that men do not widely 



130- . -THE.'. PILGRIM 



differ now from what men were in our Lord's time in the 
flesh . They do not love his unqualified declaration - 
"My kingdom is not of this world 11 —any better now than 
men did then* National greatness, in \hloh the rich 
and powerful may bear oppressive rule over the poor and 
weak, is the height of their ambition. Such are not 
willing to eat and drink with publicans and sinners* 
Things unseen and eternal are out of sight to mortal 
$yes, Men doubt the declaration of the Bible that: 
"Beyond this vale of tears, 

There is a life above 
Unmeasured by the flight of years: 
And all that life is love." 

It is this unbelief that fosters their, love for the 
world and for themselves. And the pride of heart that 
na urally goes with the love of self is not* willing to 
stoop to what is not highly esteemed among men* It is 
not hard to see from the words of my text that there 
was a very large measure of self -pride still clinging 
to the hearts of those who composed the crowd now in 
attendance upon our Lord on this his last journey from 
Jericho to Jerusalem. They thought it a stoop in him, 
and out of place that he should condescend to go to be 
guest with, a man that is a sinner* It is plain from 
this that they did not know themselves, like the Phari- 
see, they justified themselves, arid were ready even to 
thank God that they were not like other men. But our 
Lord came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to 
repentance. And we should notice that by sinners he. 
means such as feel and know themselves 'to be sinners, 
Jesus adapted himself to the felt wants of those he 
came to save. He had no sin-forgiving words for the 
self-righteous. He had no blessing for the proud in . 
spirit. He had no promise for those who exalted them- 
selves , 

I love to contemplate this glorious feature of our 
blessed religion. The docile, teachable disposition 
of the little ; child, coupled with the honest confession 
of Peters "I am a sinful man, Lord, 11 is the low plane 
of feeling upon which the savior enters the soul. It 
was declared by a prophet respecting his first advent 



THE PILGRIM 131 



into the world: "Every valley shall be exalted, and 
every mountain and hill shall be made low. 1 ' Mountains 
and hills in this passage signify the proud and self- 
exalted desires and lusts of the wicked man, which are 
to be laid low because such states of heart and life 
forever oppose themselves to the meekness and gentle- 
ness of Christ. But the principle of humility, signi- 
fied by a valley, ig to be exalted; not that humility 
exalteth or can exalt itself; but this truly humble 
state of mind prepares man to receive the Lord's saving 
truth, and this exalts a man. "-He that humble th himself 
shall be exalted." 

For myself, Brethren, 1 can say with the Apostle Paul, 
that "in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; 
for to will is present with me, but to do that which is 
good is not. For the good which I would I do not; but 
the evil -which I would not, that I do .... I delight 
in the law of God after the inward man; but I perceive 
a different law in my members, warring against the will 
of my spirit, and bringing me into captivity to the sway 
of sin in my members." Paul here speaks of the inward 
man, and of the members or outward man. This takes my 
thought to the tabernacle in the wilderness , It had an 
outer court and an inner sanctuary. The tables of God's 
holy law were placed in this most holy place. It was 
right in this most holy place, over the mercy seat, 
which was the golden cover to the ark that contained 
the tables of the law, that Jehovah had his dwelling 
place. It was there he talked with Moses. The outer 
court was for offerings, and served as a place for the 
confession of sin and its forgiveness. Brethren, I am 
glad to think we are like this tabernacle, that we have 
a most holy place, an inner sanctuary, in the inmost 
of our heart, where Jesus has his dwelling place with 
us, and where his voice alone is heard. In this holy 
of holies we feel his love, and it is there we see his 
face. It is there that he appears to us .the fairest 
among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. It 
is here that we sing: 

"Jesus, I love thy charming name; 
'Tis music in mine ear: 



Wr 



THE PILGRIM 



Ealn. would I sould it out so loud- 
That earth and heaven might hear. 

n Xe£, thou art precious to my soul; 

My transport and niy trust: 
Jewels to thee are gaudy toys, 

And gold is sordid dust. 

.; - "I'll speak the honors of thy name 

With my last fleeting breath: 
And, dying, clasp thee in my arms, 

The antidote of death. 11 
Brethren, this is what I have gained, it is what you 
have gained, it is what we all have gained by placing 
ourselves in sight of the Lord as he was passing by. 
In itself, it was a small thing that Zaccheus did. The 
tree which he ascended was not hard to climb j he was 
nimble, for he ran on before $ and it did not take him 
long to. climb, for. he had not much time. But in motive 
the act was great, because it was done to get a sight 
of Jesus the Lord. The Lord knew this, and knew also 
that his motive was not one of idle curiosity, but hon- 
est desire to see him and to learn something more con- 
cerning him. A#d see how he was blessed. Although he 
was looked, down upon as being a sinner, and felt in his 
heart that he was a. sinner, still the blessed savior 
regarded it not out of place for him to go and be guest 
with him, and crown the occasion with the joyful annun- 
ciation: "This day is salvation come to this house, 
forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham." All who 
believe in the Lord from the heart are sons of Abraham, 
and heirs of God according to the promise. 

Now, when any one goes to church to hear the Gospel 
preached, and thereby to learn something about the Lord 
that he may have knowledge of Jesus, he. is doing in 
effect just what Zaccheus did. The same may be said 
with regard to reading the Divine Word. It matters not 
how great a sinner he may have been. No one now is 
likely to be a .greater, sinner than was Mary Magdalene 
out of whom seven devils were cast; and yet the Lord 
could say of her: "Her sins, which are many, are for- 
given, for she hath loved-- much.".: A dying saint was 



THE PILGRIM 133 



once heard to say: "Hunt up all my sins; pile them 
mountain high] one breath of faith seeps them all away; 
and the more I'm forgiven the louder I ! ll sing." 

Ah, brethren and sister, we can rejoice that the 
Lord condescended to be a guest with us poor sinners. 
He proclaims salvation to- every one of us. And inas- 
much as he has come in 'to sup with us and we with him, 
let us hold him by the feet, ever welcome to our hearts, 
and he will abide with us forever, 

— Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, l86lu 

"I LOVE TO STEAL AWHILE AWAY. « 

The burdened wife and mother who wrote this hymn 
would, at the time, have rated her history with "the 
short and simple annals of the poor J 1 But. the poor who 
are "remembered for what they have done," may have a 
larger place in history than many rich who did nothing. 

Phebe Hinsdale Brown, was born in Canaan, N.Y. , in 
1783. Her father, George Hinsdale, who died in her 
early childhood, must have been a man of good abilities 
and religious feeling, being the reputed composer of 
the psalm-tune, "Hinsdale," found in some long-ago col- 
lections . 

Left an orphan at two years of age, Phebe "fell into 
the hands of a relative who kept the county jail," and 
her childhood knew little but the bitter fare and cease- 
less drudgery of domestic slavery. She grew up with a 
crushed spirit, and was a timid, shrinking woman as 
long as she lived. She married Timothy H. Brown, a 
house-painter of Ellington, Ct., and passed her days 
there and in Monson, Mass., where she lived some twenty- 
five years. 

In her humble home in the former town her children 
were born, and it was while caring for her own little 
family of four, and a sick sister, that the incident 
occurred (August 1818), which, called forth her tender 
hymn. She. was a devout Christian, and in pleasant 
weathefr, whenever she could find. the leisure, she would 
"steal away" at sunset from her burdens. a little whils, 
to reat and commune with God. Her favorite place was 
a wealthy neighbor's large and beautiful flower garden. 



13U THE PILGRIM 



A servant reported her visits there to the mistress of 
the house, who called the "intruder" to account. 

w If you want anything, why don't you come in?' 1 was 
the rude question, followed by a plain hint that no 
stealthy person was welcome. 

Wounded by the ill-natured rebuff, the sensitive 
woman sat down the next evening with her baby in her 
lap, and half -blinded by her tears, wrote "An Apology 
for my Twilight Rambles/ 1 in the verses that have made 
her celebrated. 

She sent the manuscript (nine stanzas) to her cap- 
tious neighbor— with what result has never been told. 

Crude and simple as the little rhyme was, it contain- 
ed a germ of lyric beauty and life. The Rev. Dr. 
Charles Hyde of Ellington, who was a neighbor of Hrs. 
Brown, procured a copy. He was assisting Dr. Nettleton 
to compile the Village Hymns, and the humble bit of 
devotional verse was at once judged worthy of a place 
in the new book, Dr. Hyde and his daughter Emeline 
giving it some kind touches of rhythmic amendment, 
I love to steal awhile away 
From little ones and care, 
— became,— 

I love to steal awhile away 
From every cumb'ring care. 

In the last line of this stanza— 
In gratitude and prayer 
— was changed to— 

In humble, grateful prayer, 
— and the few other defects in syllabic smoothness or 
literary grace were affectionately repaired, but the 
slight furbishing it received did not alter the indivi- 
duality of Mrs. Brown's work. It remained hers— and 
took its place among the immortals of its kind, another 
illustration of how little poerry it takes to make a 
good hymn. Only five stanzas were printed, the others 
being voted redundant by both author and editor. 

Phebe Brown died at Henry, 111., in 1861 j but she 
had made the church and the world her debtor not only 
for her little lyric of pious trust, but by rearing a 
son, the Rev. Samuel Brown, D,D,, who became the pioneer 



THE PILGRIM 13$ 



American missionary to Japan— to which Christian calling 
two of her grandchildren also consecrated themselves. 

— The Story of the Hymns and Tunes 



THE LACK OF FAITH IN GOD 
"We be not able to go up against the people; for they 
are stronger than we". Num. 13s 31 • Only sixteen words 
in this statement; yet they contain the record of one 
of the worst tragedies in all of human-divine history. 
What was the reason? the unbelief of just* ten men. 
Just ten men, to whom God had entrusted, a great/ work, 
that of being an advance guard into Canaan. 

These men completely failed Him as their faithful 
servants.' They not only died themselves under the judg- 
ment- of God V.37. but all the adult congregation of 
Israel, save Joshua and Caleb, met the same fate be-' ■ 
cause of lack of faith in' the power of God. What a 
different story could have been written, had all ten 
* spies been inspired by the same simple faith as 1 the 
two were. 

It is indeed a serious thing not to believe God. 
Eternity alone will reveal the fatal mistake made by 
many people of God throughout the ages, because having 
been given many promises, they failed to truly believe, 
when the obstacles appeared too great for their human; 
' reasoning to understand. May God help us to believe.. 
Him always. 

- Bible Monitor, 19$7 - 

JUSTICE r ' 

Occasionally the believer is tempted to conclude 
that God's dealings with him are not equitable. Other 
Christians fare better than he. Sometimes his little 
projects must be sacrificed for the greater cause of 
the Kingdom. Aquail may find her nest ruined that a 
field may be brought under cultivation. But what does 
a quail understand of plowing, sowing, harvesting, mill- 
ing, and breadmaking? For the unexplainable situations 
in our lives "we must learn to trust God's judgment. 
"Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?— Sel. 



136 THE PILGRIM 



FAITH AND UNBELIEF 
'(Condensed from the lectures of C. G. Finney, I8I48) 

WELAT EVANGELICAL FAITH IS NOT, 

1*> The term faith, like most other words, has diverse signifi- 
cations, and is manifestly used in the Bible sometimes to desig- 
nate a state of the intellect, in which case it means an undoubt- 
ing persuasion, a firm conviction, an unhesitating intellectual 
assent. This, however, is not its evangelical sense* Evangeli- 
cal faith cannot be a phenomenon of the intellect, f r the plain 
reason that, when used in an evangelical sense, it is always 
.regarded as a virtue* But virtue cannot be predicated of intel- 
lectual states, because these are involuntary, or passive states 
of mind. Faith is a condition of salvation* It is something 
which we are commanded to do upon pain of eternal death* But 
if it be something to be done —a solemn dutyj it cannot be a 
merely passive state, a mere intellectual conviction* The Bible 
distinguishes between intellectual and saving faith* There 
is a faith of devils, and there is a faith of saints, James 
clearly distinguishes between them, and also between an antino- 
mian and a saving faith* "Even so faith, if it hath not works, 
is dead, being alone* Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and 
I have works t show me thy faith without thy works, and I will 
show thee my faith by my wjrks* Thou believest that there is 
one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble. 
But wilt thou know, vain man, that faith without works is dead: 
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offer- 
ed Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought 
with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the 
Bcripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and 
it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called 
the friend of God* Ye see then how that by works a man is justi- 
fied, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the 
harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, 
and had sent them out another way? For as the body without 
the spirit is dead, so faith without, works is dead also." — 
James ii. 17-26. The distinction is here clearly marked, as 
it is elsewhere in the Bible, between intellectual and saving 
faith* One produces good works or a holy life; the other is 
unproductive* This shows that one is a phenomenon of the intel- 
lect merely, and does not of oourse control the conduct* The 
other must be a phenomenon of the will, because it manifests 
itself in the outward life* Evangelical faith, then, is not a 
conviction, a perception of truth, It does not belong to the 
intellect, though it implies intellectual conviction, yet the 
evangelical or vituous element does not consist in it. 

2. It is not a feeling of any kind; that is, it does not 
belong to, and is not a phenomenon of, the sensibility. The 
phenomena of the sensibility are passive states of mind, and 
therefore have no moral character in themselves* Faith, re- 
garded as a virtue, oannot oonsist in any involuntary state of 



THE PILGRIM 137 



mind whatever. . It is represented in the B ible as an active and 
most efficient state of mind* It works, and "works by love*" 
It produces "the obedience of faith." Christians are said to 
be sanctified toy the faith that is in Christ, Indeed the Bible, 
in a great variety of instances and ways, represents faith in 
God and in Chri3t as a cardinal form of virtue, and as the main- 
spring of an outwardly. holy life* Hence, it cannot consist in 
any involuntary state or exercise of mind whatever* 



WHAT EVANGELICAL FAITH IS. 

Since the Bible uniformly represents saving or evangelical 
faith as a virtue, we know that it must be a phenomenon of the 
will* It is an efficient state of mind, and therefore it must 
consist in the embracing of the truth by the heart or will* It 
is the will's closing in with the truths of the gospel* It is 
the soul^ act of yielding itself up, or committing itself to 
the truths of the evangelical system* It is a trusting in 
Christ, a committing of the soul and the whole being to him, 
in his various offices and relations to men* It is a confiding 
in him, and in what is revealed of him, in his word and provi- 
dence* and by his Spirit* 

The same word that is so often rendered faith in the New 
Testament is also rendered commit; as in John ii* 24, "But Jesus 
did nob commit himself unto them, because he knew all men*" 
Luke xvi* 11, "If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the 
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the tue riches?" 
In these passages the word rendered commit is the same word as 
that which is rendered faith* It is a confiding in God and in 
Christ, as revealed in the Bible and in reason* It is a receiv- 
ing of the testimony of God concerning himself, and concerning 
all things of which he has spoken* It is a receiving of Christ 
for just what he is represented tc be in his gospel, and an un- 
qualified surrender of the will, and of the whole being to him* 

MAT IS IMPLIED IN EVANGELICAL FAITH? 

1* It implies an intellectual perception of the things, facts, 
and truths believed* No one can believe that which he does not 
understand* It is impossible to believe that which is not so 
revealed to the mind, that the mind understands it* It has 
been erroneously assumed, that faith did not need light, that' 
is, that it is not essential to faith that we understand the 
doctrines or facts that we are called upon to believe* This 
is a false assumption; for how can we believe, trust, confide, 
in what we do not understand? I must first understand what a 
proposition, a fact, a doctrine, or a thing is, before I can 
say whether I believe, or whether I ought to believe, or not* 
Should you state a proposition to me in an unknown tongue, and 
ask me if I believe it, I must reply, I do not, for I do not 
understand the terms of the proposition* Perhaps I should be- 
lieve the truth expressed, and perhaps I should not; I cannot 
tell, until I understand the proposition* Any fact or doctrine 
not understood is like a proposition in an unknown tongue; it 



138 < THE PILGRIM 



Is impossible that the mind should receive or reject it, should 
believe*- or disbelieve it, until I"t is understood* We can re-/ 
ceive or believe a truth, or fact, or doctrin no further than 
we understand it. So far as we do understand it, so far we may 
believe it*, although we may not understand all about it. For 
example! I can believe in both the proper divinity and humanity 
of Jesus Christ. That. he is both Go (J and man, is a fact that 
I can understand* Thus far I can believe* But how his divinity 
and humanity are united I oannot understand. Therefore, I 
only believe the fact that they are united; the quo modo of 
their union I know nothing about, and I believe no more than 
I know. So I can understand that the Father, Son, and Holy ' 
Spirit are one God. That the Father is God, that the Son is * 
God, that tiie Holy Spirit is God; that these three are Divfrie 
per sans, I can understand as a fact. I can : also understand 
that there is no contradiction or impossibility in the declared 
fact, that these three are 'one in their substratum of being; 
that is that they are one in a diff erent sense from that In 
which they are three; that they ! are three in one sence, and one 
In another. I understand that this may be a faot, and there- 
fore I can believe it* But the quo modo of their union I neither 
understand nor believe: that is, I have no theory, no idea, 
no data on the subject, have no opinion, and consequently no 
faith, as to the manner in which they are united. Faith, then, 
in any faot or -doctrine, Implies that the intellect has an 
idea, -or that the soul has an understanding, an opinion of. that 
which the heart embraces of believes. 

2. Evangelical faith implies the appropriation of the 
truths of the £0,3 pal to ourselves. It implies an acceptance 
■of Christ as our wisdom, r ghteousness, sanctifioation, and 
redemption. The soul that truly believes, believes that Christ 
tasted death for every man, and of course for it* It apprehends 
Christ aa th£ r Saviour of the world, as offered to all, and em- 
braces and receives him for itself. It appropriates his atone- 
ment, and his resurrection and his intercession, and his 
promises to it soli. Christ is thus presented in the gospel, 
not only as the Saviour of the world, but also to the indivi- 
dual acceptance of men. fie is embraced by the world no further 
than he is embraced by individuals. He saves the world no ■/ 
further than he saves individuals. He died for the world, be*- " 
cause he died* for the individuals that compose the race. 
Evangelical faith, then, implies the belief of the truths of - 
the Bible, tfre apprehension of the truths just named, and a 
reception of them, and a personal acceptance and appropriation 
of 'Christ to meet the necessities of the individual soul. 

3. Evangelical faith implies an evangelical life. This 
would not be true if faith were merely an intellectual state 

or exefoise. But since, as we have seen, faith is of the heart, 
since it consists in the committal of the will to Christ, it 
follows., by a law of necessity, that the life will correspond 
wi t h ^h e f ai t H . L et t hi s be ke pt in p e rp et iial r emembranc e . 



THE PILGRIM 139 



4. Evangelical faith implies repentance towards God. Evan*- 
gelical faith particularly respects Jesus Christ and his salva- 
tion* It is an embracing of Christ and his salvation* Of course 
it implies repentance towards God, that is, a turning from sin 

to God. The will cannot be submitted to Christ, it cannot re- 
ceive him as he is presented in the gospel, while it neglects 
repentance toward God; while it rejects the authority of the 
Father, it cannot embrace and submit to the Son. 

5. Disinterested benevolence, or a state. of good-will to 
being, is implied in evangelical faith; for that is. the commit- 
al of the soul to God and to Christ in all obedience. It must, 
therefore, imply fellowship or sympathy with him in regard to 

the great end upon which his heart is set, and for which he lives. 
A yielding up* of the will and the soul to him, must imply the 
embracing of the same end that he embraces. 

6« It implies a state of the sensibility corresponding to 
the truths believed. It implies this, because this state of 
the sensibility is a result of "faith by a law of necessity, and 
this result follows necessarily upon the acceptance of Christ 
and his gospel by the heart* 

7. Of course it implies peace of mind # In Christ the soul 
finds its full and present salvation. It finds justification, 
which produces a sense of pardon and acceptance. It finds 
sanctification, or grace to deliver from the reigning power of 
sin. It finds all its wants met, and all needed grace proffered 
for its assistance. It sees no cause for disturbance, nothing 
to ask or desire that is not treasured up in Christ. It has 
ceasedto war with God —with itself. It has found its resting- 
place in Christ, and rests. is profound peace under the shadow 
of. the Almighty, 

8. It must imply the existence in the soul of every virtue, 
because it is a yielding up of the whole being to the will of 
God. Consequently, all the phases of virtue required by the 
gospel must be implied as existing, either in a developed or 
in an undeveloped state, in every heart that truly receives 
Christ by faith. Certain forms or modifications of virtue may 
not in all cases have found the occasions of their development, 
but certain it is, that every modification of virtue will mani- 
fest itself as its occasion shall arise, if there be a true and 
a living faiiEh in Christ. This follows from the very nature 

of faith* 

9 Present evangelical faith implies a state of present sin- 
lessness. Observe, faith is the yielding and committal of the 
whole will, and of the whole being to Christ. This, and nothing 
short of this, is evangelical faith. But this comprehends and 
implies the whole of present, true obedience to Christ. This 
is the reason why faith is spoken of as the condition, and as 
it were, the only condition, of salvation. It really implies 
all virtue. Faith may be contemplated either as a distinct form 

(continued on page 142) 



HlO THE PILGRIM 



Jiltstorkal 



THE CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY 

.In the Annals of the historian Tacitus (xv.UU), 
after the description of a terrible fire at Rome, we* 
read with sorrow and indignation the following passage: 
"* r To suppress the common rumor, that he had himself set 
fire to the city/ Nero procured others to be accused, 
and inflicted exquisite punishments upon those people 
who were held in abhorrence for their crimes, and were 
commonly known by the name of Christians. They had 
their denomination from Christus, who, in the reign 
of Tiberius, was put to death a3 a criminal by the 
procurator Pontius Pilate. This pernicious super stiticn, 
though checked, for. awhile, broke out again, and spread 
not only over Judaea, the. source of this evil, but 
reached the city also, whither flow from all quarters 
all things vile and shameful, and where, they find shel- 
ter and encouragement, kt first those only were appre- 
hended who confessed themselves of that sect; after- 
wards a vast multitude was discovered by them, all of 
whom were condemned, not so much for the crime of burn- 
ing the city, ac for their enmity to mankind * Their 
executions were so contrived as to expose them to de- 
rision and contempt. Some were covered over with. the 
skins of wild beasts, and torn to pieces by dogs; some 
were crucified; and' others having been daubed over with 
combustible materials, were set up as lights in the 
night time, and thus burnt to death. Nero made use 
of his own gardens as the theatre upon this occasion, 
and also exhibited the diversions of the Circus, some- 
times standing in the crowd as a spectator, in the 
habit of a charrioteer, at others driving a chkriot 
himself, till at length these men, though .really crimi- 
nal and deserving exemplary punishment, began to be 
commiserated;, 31s people who were destroyed, not out of 
regard to the public welfare, but only to gratify the 
cruelty of one man. 1 This passage, vhich will scarcely 
be deemed creditable to the philosophy of its author 



THE PILGRIM lUl 



even by those who most extol it, and which is most deep- 
ly disgraceful to his historical accuracy, to his politi- 
cal knowledge , and to his common humanity, was written 
at the end of the first century, about thirty-six years 
after the persecution which it so vividly describes. 
It was in the midst of this awful scene, that St, Peter 
and St. Paul are believed to have suffered. We shall 
not pause to investigate very deeply the truth of this 
opinion, but rather confine our attention to the testi- 
mony here afforded as to the number of Christians exist- 
ing at Rome even at that very early period. ! A vast 
multitude was discovered by the eye of persecution, 
and the compassion excited by their sufferings would 
naturally awaken an attention, which had never before 
been directed to them. The assault of Nero was furious 
and probably transient; and such is precisely the method 
of aggression, which fails not in the end to multiply 
its objects; and if it be thus probably that, before 
the end of the first century, the Church of Rome sur- 
passed every other in power and consideration, we may 
rest assured that these were rather augmented than 
diminished during the century following. To this belief 
we are persuaded, partly by the greater facility of 
conversion offered by the size of the city, and the 
number of the inhabitants; partly by consideration that 
the force of opinion would naturally lead the feeble 
Christian societies throughout the empire to look for 
counsel and protection to the capital, as we know the 
Church of Corinth to have done; and partly by the fact, 
that frequent pecuniary contributions were transmitted 
by the faithful at Rome, to their less fortunate breth- 
ren in the provinces. In this, then, consisted the 
original superiority of Rome; in numbers, in opinion, 
in wealth: to these limits it was entirely confined, 
and it was not until quite the conclusion of the secohd 
century that we hear of any claim to authority. , 

The circumstances of that claim arose from a very 
early difference in the Church respecting the celebra- 
tion of Easter. It was shortly this: the Christians 
of Lesser Asia observed the feast at which the Paschal 
lamb was distributed, in memory of the Last Supper, at 



1U2 . THE ' PILGRIM 



the 'Same time at which the Jews celbrated their pass- 
over j that is, on the llith day of the fir£t Jewish 
month; and three days afterwards they commemorated the 
resurrection, with out regard to the day of the week. 
The western churches confined the anniversary of the 
resurrection to the first day of the week, and kept 
i:heir Paschal feast on the night preceding it. Hence 
' arose some inconviences; and we find that Polycarp 
had visited Home about 100, A.D« for the purpose of 
arranging the controversy. He was not permanently suc- 
cessful; and about ninety years afterwards (A.D. 196, 
Fleury, 1, iv. c. UU), Victor, Bishop of Rome, addressed 
to the Asiatics an express order to conform to the prac- 
tice of Rome. They convoked a numerous synod, whose 
fe lings of independence, and disdain of the assumed 
authority, of the Roman, were temperately expressed in 
the answer of Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus. The 
insolence of Victor was irritated by the refusal, and 
he published an edict of excommunication against the 
churches of Asia. This was the first aggression, of a 
Roman bishop on the tranquillity of the Church of Christ; 
and we may reasonably believe that it was disapproved 
by the. best Christians of the East, since we know that 
it provoked the remonstrance of Irenaeus, Bishop of 
Lyons. The churches of Palestine and Alexandria appear 
to have united with those of Asia in an affair so 
highly inflamed by the arrogance of Victor, that it 
advanced from a controversy to a schism, \h ich was not 
finally healed till the Council of Nice in 325. 

— Waddington's .History of the Church 



FAETH (continued from page 139) 
of virtue, and a a an attribute of love, or as comprehensive of 
all virtue* When contemplated as an attribute of love, it is 
only a branch of sanctif ication. When contemplated in the 
wider sense of universal conformity of -will to the mil of God, 
it is then synonymous with entire present sanotifioation* Con- 
templated in either light, its existence in the heart-must, be 
inconsistent with present sin there* Faith is an attitude of 
the will, and is wholy incompatible with present rebellion of 
will against Christ* This must be true, or what is faith? 

Next J UNBELIEF 



THE PILGRIM 1U3 



Through the night of doubt and sorrow 

Onward goes the pilgrim band > 
Singing songs of expectation. 

Marching to the promised land* 
Clear before us through the darkness 

Gleams and burns the guiding light: 
Brother clasps the hand of brother , 

Stepping fearless through the night. 

One, the light of God's own presence. 

O'er his ransomed people shed, 
Chasing far the gloom and terror, 

Brightening all the path we tread: 
One the object of our journey, 

One, the faith which never tires, J 
One, the earnest looking forward, 

One, the hope our God inspires* 

One, the strain the lips of thousands 

Lift as from the heart of one; 
One the conflict, one the peril, 

One, the march in God begun: 
One, the gladness of rejoicing 

On the far eternal shore, 
Miere the One Almighty Father 

Reigns in love for evermorei 

Onward therefore, pilgrim brothers, 

Onward, with th$ cx^oss our aidi 
Bear its shame, and fight its battle, 

Till we rest beneath its shade! 
Soon shall come the great awaking; 

Soon the rending of the tomb; 
Then the scattering of all shadows, 

And the end of toil and gloom] 

Bernard S # Ingemann, Danish; 1825; 



Ikh THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
-SECOND CORINTHIANS- 
DATE.- The Second Epistle to the Corinthians was 
written in Macedonia, in the autumn of A»l).£7> but per- 
haps not all at one time or place. The bearers of the 
letter were Titus and two others, Tdho are not named, 
and about whom there have been many futile conjectures. 

CHARACTERISTICS.- This is the first chapter in 
ecclesiastical biography, as the First Epistle is in 
ecclesiastical history. It is the apostle 1 s defence 
of his acts, being in part an autobiography; and for 
many details of his life it is our only source of infor- 
mation. It tells us much about his personal feelings, 
the joys and sorrows which his high office brought to 
him, and the humility and fortitude with which he re- 
ceived them. 

OCCASION AND CONTENTS.- The motive for writing it was 
news brought from Corinth by Titus (7*5,6}, especially 
as to the way in which the First Epistle had been re- 
ceived, and the success of the Judaizing party, #10 had 
been intriguing in Corinth, as elsevjhere, against the 
authority of St. Paul. The contents are less varied 
than those of the First Epistle, but the changes from 
one subject to another are very abrupt. After the 
usual salutation and thanksgiving (I:I-II), he discusses 
the news brought by Titus (i:12-?:l6), the collection 
for the churches in Judea (8:1-9*15)} and his own 
apostolic authority (10:8-12 13). He ends with warning 
and blessing (l2:lU-13:13). 

— Bible Encyclopedia 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 JULY, 19^9 NO . 7 

^Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul/ 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



GLORYING IN THE CflOSS 

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, 
"Which before the cross I 'spend:- 

Life and health, and peace possessingj 
From the sinner's dying Friend. 

Here I'll sit, forever viewing, 

Mercy's streams, in streams of blood, 

Precious drops, my soul bedewing, 
Plead and claim my peace with God, 

Truly blessed is this station, 
Low before his cross to lie, 
While I see divine compassion, 
. Beaming from his gracious eye. 

Here it is I find my heaven, 
While up on the cross I ga,:se, 

Love I much? I'm more forgiven— 
I'm a miracle of grace. 

Love and grief my heart dividing, 
With my tears his feet I'll bathe, 

Constant still in faith abiding, 
Life deriving from his death. 

May I still enjoy this feeling, 

In all need to Jesus go, 
Prove his wound each day more healing, 

And himself more fully know. 

- Selected by J. G. Hootman 



THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM is o religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request, Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THE NEW COVENANT 
Heb, 8*8,13 

The relation which God f s people sustain to him is 
a covenant relationship, and we are not aware of any 
instance in Bible history where God ever recognized 
any people as His own or made any promises to anyone 
outside of a covenant relation with Him. 

Our title "The New Covenant 11 implies that there must 
have been another or former covenant* And because of 
the "New 11 the former must of necessity be "01d # " And 
so reasons the apostle in Heb. 8; 13: "In that he sait^h, 
A new covenant, he hath made the first old* Now t* f 
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away* 11 

All Bible readers are aware that our Bible is divid- 
ed into two major parts The Old Testament and The New *. 
Testament* The Old Testament, commonly called the Law 
and the Prophets, was all written before the birth of 
Christ, and is called The Old Testament or covenant 
after the Covenant which God made with the children of 
Israel, under Moses, at mount Sinai. Therefore Moses 
is called the mediator of the old covenant or law. 

That the Ten Commandments is the "covenant" which 
God made with Israel at Sinai, is clearly shown in 
the following Scriptures t "And the Lord said unto 
Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of 
these words J have made a covenant with thee and with 
Israel. . # and he wrote upon; the tables the words of 
the covenant, the ten commandments, Ex. 3U:27,28* 

"And he declared unto you his covenant which he 
commanded you to perform, even ten commandments: and he 
wrote them upon two table of stone." Deut, U:13. 

This Siniatic covenant is rightly called the first 
covenant by the- writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
because it was the first covenant which God made with 
Israel. It was not the covenant which He made with 
their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for Moses 



THE PILGRIM lltf 



tells them, specifically and emphatically, in Deut.£:2j 
"The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb 
(Mount Sinai) . The Lord made not this covenant with 
our fathers, but with us^, even us, who are all of us 
here alive this day*" This covenant differed from 
that which was made with their father Abraham in that 
it was not permanent j it was limited to a certain time, 
for a specific purpose, and its promises were earthly* 
Gal, 3:19-2$, 

Four hundred and thirty years before, God made a 
covenant with Abraham which He said would be an ever- 
lasting covenant in which he was promised a "seed" in 
which ALL nations of the earth would be blessed, "And 
I will establish my covenant between me and thee and 
thy seed after thee in their generations for an* ever- 
lasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy 
seed after thee." Gen. l?,7t 

Thus we read in Gal. 3:16,17, "Now to Abraham and 
to his seed were the promises made. He saith not* and 
to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, 
which is Christ, And this I say, that the c ove nant 
that was confirmed before of God in Christ , the law, 
which was four hundred and thirty "years after, cannot 
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect, 
for if the inheritance be of the latt (the Siniatic cov- 
enant), it is no more of promise: but God gave it to 
Abraham by promise. Wherefore then severth the law? 
It was added because of transgressions, till the seed 
should come to whom the promise was made; and it was 
ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator (Moses). 

We believe this covenant which God made with Abraham, 
1±30 years before the Siniatic covenant, is the essence 
and basis of the New Covenant of which Chriat Jesus 
(not Moses) is the mediator, because it was "confirmed 
before of God in Christ." It was new to Israel because 
they had not yet come to Christ the "seed" in whom it 
was promised, and because it was to superceed the first 
covenant that was made with them at Sinai, 

Thus we read, "But now hath he (Christ) obtained a 
more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the 
mediator of a better covenant, which was established 



H+8 THE PILGRIM 



upon better promises. For if that first covenant had 
been faultless, then should np place have b§en sought 
for the second* For finding fault with them he s&ith, 
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will ! 
make a new covenant with the housq of Israel and with 
the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that 
I made with their fathers in the day when I took thejti 
by the hand to lead them out of the land of egyptj 
because they continued not in my covenant, and I re- 
garded them not, saith the Lord. 

Fotf this is the covenant that I will make, with 1}he 
house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I 
will put my laws in their mind, and write them in thei r 
hearts : and I will be to them a God, and they shall be 
to me a people.; And they shall not teach every man 
his neighbor, 'and every man his brother, saying, know 
the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the 
greatest. For I wll,! be merciful to their unrighteous - 
ness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remem - 
ber no more . 

In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the 
first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is 
ready to vanish away." Heb » 8; 6-13. 

In this text we are told that it had been prophesied 
long before (600 B.C«) that God would 'make a new coven- 
ant with Israel, the essence of which would be the laws 
of* God— which is the love of God— in their hearts 
(not on tables of stone), and their sins, and iniquities 
remembered no more (forgiven); and that Jesus, who is 
the mediator of the "New" and "Better Covenant" is the 
answer to this prophesy. 

In the English translation of the New Testament, 
"testament" and "covenant" are both translated from 
the same word which is usually translated "covenant" 
and have the ,same meaning. We are told by those who 
can read the Greek language in" "which, the Mew Testament 
was written, that the same word which is usually trans- 
lated "covenant" appears iji a H places in the original 
text, and not two words as' in our translation. Two 
instances in Heb. 9 are sufficient to confirm this 
statement: In verse 15 it is said, "And for this cause 



THE PILGRIM Ui9 



he is the mediator of the new testament, that/ by means 
of death for the transgressions that were tinder the 
first testament, they which ape called might receive 
the promise of eternal inheritance." Here, u the first 
testament" obviously refers to the Siniatic "covenant." 
Again in verse 20 it is said, "This is the blood of 
the 'testament 1 which God hath enjoined unto you." 
This is a quotation from Ex* 2h:8 which reads; "Behold 
the blood of the 'covenant 1 made with you concerning 
all these words." 

Thus Jesus confirmed the new covenant with his dis- 
ciples who were all Israelites, and whom he chose to 
be the apostles and next heads of the remnant elect 
Israel, when he gave them the New Coraraandment or 
covenant, and the cup which was the token of his blood 
that was shortly to be shed for the remission of their 
sins, and said, "For this is my blood of the new test- 
ament (covenant) which is shed for many for the re- 
mission of sins." Matt. 26:28, The essence of the 
New Covenant, therefore, is the forgiveness of sins, 
and the "laws of God (love of God) in the heart. And 
all who can claim the forgiveness of sins and the 
gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the laws o£ God .in 
the heart, must acknowledge that they are under the 
new covenant in Christ Jesus. 

This doctrine is beautifully and powerfully eluci- 
dated in the f ollowing eighth and ninth chapters of 
Hebrews, wherein it is said that this blood of the 
covenant is that by which we are sanctified. "For by 
one offering he hath perfected forever them that are 
sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness 
to us: for after that he had said before, This is the 
covenant that I will make with them after those days, 
saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, 
and in their minds will I write them; and their sins 
and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where 
remission of these is, there is no more offering for 
sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter 
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a NEW AND . 
LIVING WAY. . . Let us draw near with a true heart in 
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled 
from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with 
pure water." Heb. 10:lU~22. — D.F.W. 



l£0 THE PILGRIM 



HOLY GHOST BAPTISM 
By J. I. Cover 

In the doctrine of baptisms, the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost is paramount. We have seen that water baptism is 
the beginning of active faith and repentance being mani- 
fest openly to declare belief that Jesus Christ is the 
Son of God, to renounce Satan and all his pernicious 
ways, and to covenant with God in Christ Jesus to live 
faithful unto death; so in this manner clearing the 
decks for active service to God. Fervent prayer at the 
time of baptism for the baptism or receiving of the 
Holy Ghost. 

No work approved of God can be active and accompli- 
shed by us without the suggestion, cooperation and 
power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives: for we 
read "For it is God which worketh in you both to will 
and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13* 

The Christian can only walk after the Spirit, the 
Holy Ghost by reproving the world in us of sin, showing 
the way to righteousness, and presenting to us the work 
of judgment in our lives to escape the judgment unto 
death. St. John l£:8-ll* "For if we judge ourselves 
we shall not be judged . " I Cor. 11:31. So God, the 
Holy Ghost directs all who love the Lord, and have 
fully yielded their will to God in obedience to his 
Holy Word. No more important question can confront us 
than was asked by the Apostle Paul long ago: "Have ye 
received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Acts 19:2, 
The inference here is that we should know the answer to 
this question, and also we read, "Now if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." We have 
already referred to the revealed truth that the Holy 
Ghost came upon Jesus at his baptism so he may properly 
be called the Spirit of Christ. "If we through the 
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body we shall live," 
Ho. 8:13. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, 
they are the Sons of God." We can be in the Spirit if 
the Spirit of God dwell in us. What a harmonizing work 
and witness follows when "The Spirit itself beareth wit- 
ness with our spirit that we are the Children of God." 



THE PILGRIM l£L 



Rom. 8:16. Let no one speak disrespectfully of the 
great work of the Holy Spirit in Goc^s children that 
they by this power will and do the good p leasure of God , 
which fulfills and makes possible the great promise of 
God, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter 
through the gates into the City." Rev. 22:11;. 

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? 

Have you with sacred awe his grace and love received? 
Do you and I with holy trust and faith move on? 

And steadfast walking on the way till setting sun? 

Is all our hearts desire pure to hope and believe, 
That God can cleanse from sin and to Himself receive 

Us when at last the cleansing working power is done; ■ 
And we find peace and rest and crown and victory won? 

Are we in all ways sincere to break from sinning; 

Throw away each evil thought at the beginning. 
To check each foolish sinful word before the deed; 

And think to pray for help in every time of need? 

Do we with faithful trust meet each enduring trial? 

Do we with grace turn from sin in self denial? 
Do we with willing heart give humble service true? 

Are we awake to live for God and glory too? 

Are we devoted to the Lord and of tines praying, 
For souls discouraged sadly from the path straying, 

And remember our own weakness and missteps slow; 
Be tender loving kinder to all those we know? 

Do we look forward to our dear Lords returing? 

To meet those gone and fulfill our longing yearning? 
To see the Triune Godhead glory face to face; 

And sing and praise forever in that last resting place. 

1160 Star Route 
Sonora, California 

Next: FIRE BAPTISM 



l£2 THE PILGRIM 



THE UNIQUENESS OF ISRAEL 

Israel is unique compared to other small states of 
similar size. Otherwise, why would the world mind be 
so occupied with this tiny little state? 

"There is a great moral, historical, and human prob- 
lem involved in the existence of Israel/ 1 said one of 
her statesmen. Israel took shape in the mind of the 
world, in the mind of the Jew, and in the mind of the 
Christian; she then beeajne a geographical realization 
in the Middle East. 

For the world, she stands as a world effort to re- 
move a deeply stained blot from the world conscience. 
The world at large helped in the creation of Israel, 
not merely because the Jews wanted a state, but because 
they felt that a great moral issue was involved— that 
this homeless, persecuted, tortured, discriminated 
against, and killed people has a aright to have a home- 
land of its own. Thus was demonstrated how inseparably 
the plight of the Jew is linked with international mor- 
ality. 

An estimated billion dollars plus has been raised 
for Israel in the U.S. alone since her establishment 
in 191*8. It represents an unprecedented outpouring of 
funds from private urces concentrated in a single 
country abroad. Such a phenomenon could not have 
happened without the most profound emotional dynamics. 
The culminating crisis of the Hitler days moved the 
world to offer a haven of refuge. Israel became the 
one state which could solve one of the great problems 
of humanity— the problem of Jewish homelessness. 

For the Jews themselves, there is only Zion, one 
Jerusalem, one Holy Land, one Eretz Israel. To them 
Israel is the last hope for declining Judaism. Judaism 
may survive for a long time in exile, but only in the 
Jewish national home can it be naturally and completely 
realised. A Jewish Israel is the only place, they feel, 
where the law of Moses and freedom to live it can be 
restored, without *hich Judaism is doomed. From Zion 
alone can the teaching come, form Jerusalem the Word of 
God for which modern Jewry is waiting. Gradually the 



THE PILGRIM 153 



exile will become Israel -determined, and the exiles 
who refuse to return will likewise influence the mold- 
ing of the new life in Israel, Israel will protect the 
exiles from assimilationist and liberal tendencies • 
It will assemble all Jewish spiritual activities and 
contributions of the exiles. Thus Israel will save the 
exiles from individualistic dissolution, and the exiles 
will protect Israel from nationalistic degeneration. 
Thus the Jewish mind works. 

For the Christian, the uniqueness of Israel holds 
special spiritual significance. The ancient actors in 
the divine drama of the covenants have suddenly reap- 
peared upon the theater of the world, now as a people 
with an independent state. The Jew has always held a 
significant place in the heart of the Christian. These 
children of the people God once knew as His chosen 
nation have become historically active again; and with 
their geopolitical resurrection, our drowsy interests 
also awaken. 

Thus through revived Christian interests, Israel 
has been returned into God's favor. God is returning 
love for the Jewish people through the awakened redemp- 
tive love of His redeemed church. For what has He 
gathered them? Perhaps a gathered people will respond 
more readily to the Gospel than a scattered Israel. 
Assembled in Israel this mass, otherwise hardly possible 
to reach, can hear God's last day call to receive the 
kingdom and obtain eternal life in God's kingdom through 
the redemptive message of His Son proclaimed by His 
church, the Israel of God by faith. Will they receive 
it? The church waits in hope. But while she waits 
her awakened interest and love pours forth, in fervent 
intercession. Her heart's desire and prayer to God 
for Israel i& that she might be saved. 

The uniqueness of Israel is the uniqueness of her 
end-time opportunity to hear and receive God's saving 
message in the Gospel of His Son. 

Jerusalem, Israel. 



-Gospel Herald, 19$6 



15U THE PILGRIM 



LOT LINGERED 

Twilight is a dangerous time of the day to drive a 
carl It is not dark with the inky black of night, nor 
illumined by the sunlight, but a dusky, fuzzy time of 
day when images are not clear and distances are diffi- 
cult to judge. 

This is the time of day when one is apt to be care- 
less, not on purpose} but careless because the pressure 
of the day is over. 

lou relax, take things easy as you drive home from 
work, thinking of your wife with her apron on sdurrying 
about in order to have a hot meal ready vftxen you open 
the door. 

Or you may think of your husband in a smoke-filled 
kitchen, doing his best with the latest in can. openers. 

You visualize your children rubbing their noses 
against the front window-pane, anxiously awaiting you, 
ready to bolt out the door ana down the walk the second 
you round the street corner. 

At twilight you can relax and forget the problems 
of the office and shop. If you are not careful you can 
fall asleep behind the wheel or misjudge a distance, 
neglect a road sign, and have an accident. 

Just as there is a twilight zone between light and 
darkness, so, too, there is a twilight zone between 
right and wrong. There is a border territory where 
actions are not positively sinful, nor positively not 
sinful, an area where acts are not immoral- not yet 
moral. 

Abraham's nephew, the man Lot, has truly been des- 
cribed as the "man of the twilight zone 11 J 

About U,000 years ago, in the chill, misty dawn of 
a new day, two men with camels, servants, and families 
began a journey. These men, Abraham and Lot, did not 
know where they were going, but they knew why. Abraham 
was responding to God's command: "Get thee out of thy 
country. , . unto a land that I will shew thee." Lot 
was taking this journey, not because of any God-given 
command, but because of his search for excitement and 
adventure . Why else? 



THE PILGRIM 1# 



On they traveled, stopping only to eat and sleep, 
across the green plains of Haran, through the noisy 
stone streets of Damascus, the trade hub of the Middle 
East, where one could buy silks, perfumes, and oranges. 

They splashed their herds through the Jordan Paver, 
the river where two thousand years later a carpenter 
would be baptized and God's voice would thunder from 
the clouds: "This ijs my beloved Son." 

As they wandered in the Shechem Valley, God said to 
Abraham, "To your seed I will give this land, but move 
on." As Abraham settled at Mamre, he found himself 
host to a famine. 

Loading their pack trains, they stamped across the 
hot, dry, blistering" sands of the mighty desert, through 
the dust and heat past the rocky Mount Sinai where years 
later God in thunder and lightning would carve ten laws 
on two slabs of rock for the Man of the Bulrushes, 

Where did they go? Down into Egypt! Then when a 
plague broke out in Egypt Abraham and Lot were blamed 
for it and were banished. 

They returned across the parched desert to settle in 
Bethel. Here the little ship of Faith was threatened 
by mutiny. Lot's herdsmen, as tight-fisted and cunning 
as Lot himself, removed the stone landmarks, detour ed 
the water, and taunted Abraham's men. The Abraham camp 
came out fighting 1 

Kindly old Abraham, tears coursing down his cheeks, 
allowed Lot to choose the land he wanted. Lot, standing 
by his side on a high rock, looked down into the green 
fertile valley of Jordan and in the distance the water 
sparkled merrily as the sun splashed its rays on the 
rapids, high overhead the ravens circled and rose and 
fell on the ever-changing air currents. And in the 
distance the rtiite limestone walls of Sodom pierced the 
haze of the noonday sun. 

Lot chose this land and left the rocky stony uplands 
to his uncle. Lot pitched his dark camel-skin tent to- 
ward Sodom near the city. In a year or so he was sit 
ting leisurely at the gate of a city that has corrupted 
our language with the word "sodomy," the father-in-law 
of immorality and vice* 



156 THE PIIfiRIM 



One day five desert kings, under Amraphel, King of 
Shinar, stormed Sodom, grabbed Lot and his family, tied 
their hands behind their backs, and with a leash about 
their necks disappeared into the horizon with their 
captives. 

But one of Lot's sheepherders escaped. He ran to 
Abraham's camp shouting that Lot is wiped out and 
taken captive # 

Peaceful Abraham left his rocky and stony" grain fields 
and grazing land and with three hundred aid eighteen 
farmers, a few sharpened spears and swords, and a little 
knowledge about the camel cavalry, but with God he 
wiped out the five kings and freed Lot # 
And Lot? He went back to Sodom. 
Lot was not a sinner, nor a saint! He was simply 
accepted by the people of Sodom, probably because he 
lived a good life and didn't bother them in terms of 
morality. 

One day as Abraham sat drowsily at his brown-haired 
tent, three strangers visited him and told him Sodom 
was to be destroyed. Abraham did not say: "Well, it 
deserves to be wiped out. It is sinful. It's about 
time something is done," 

Instead, he fell on his bony Knees and with one of 
the most beautiful prayers in the his try of God's 
saints asked God to spare the city. 

But there were not even ten righteous people in that 
city, and God decided to wipe it out. However, in 
response to Abraham's pleadings God sent two angels to 
warn Lot. 

When the time came to flee the city, amid the cat- 
calls of his sons-in-law at this man "suddenly turned 
evangelist," Lot lingered! 

The angels grabbed Lot and his wife by the hands and 
dragged them out of the city before it was destroyed. 
Today the smelling waters of the Dead Sea lap gently 
over the once immoral city. 

Lot was the man of the twilight zonej the man who 
believed in God but stopped short of going "all out" 
for God j the man content to stay where he was, at a 
standstill, taking things easy. 



> 



___^ THE PILGRIM lg7 

Are we Christians today like Lot— aiming at nothing 
bad and at th^ same time aiming at nothing? As Peter 
Marshall said, "aiming at nothing and hitting it." Do 
we begin with honest commitment to God, and as we find 
the road harder and longer than expected, pull into 
our shells of Christian security? 

I When God's angel of conscience warns us to flee from 
the Sodom-city of Neglect, do we linger? 

j Are we stimulated by a thrilling hymn and a poetic 
creed and once outside the church arches, do we slip 
into the twilight aone of indifference? 

- Gospel Herald, 1<#6 

SHEPHERDING THE FLOCK 

We have many preachers and teachers, but few true 
shepherds, Visits are made when saints go astray, 
often more of a judicial than a shepherd- character, but 
there is little real shepherd work, and the lack of it 
is felt everywhere, A brief consideration of who is 
a shepherd in the flock of God, and liiat his qualifi- 
cations and services are, will help us to see better 
where we are regarding this matter* 

The Lord calls Himself n the Good Shepherd," and says 
He "giveth His life for the sheep" John 10:11.. This 
is our pattern. If we are not prepared to "lay down our 
lives" 1 John 3*16, for those we serve, not as martyrs 
but as shepherds and servants, we are disqualified for 
such work. The shepherd feeds and leads the flock — 
that is, he guides the sheep to where the food is, and 
watches over them while they partake of it. To feed 
and shepherd is his work, John 21:16,17* It will be 
mostly private, generally individual, and as far as 
" possible unobtrusive. There is nothing in it to attract, 
j and no room for display. The platform has its snares 
for those who love publicity, and is the cause of many 
a fall, but a "keeper of sheep" is less liable to be 
lifted up in his service. In Psalm 78: 70,72, there is 
a fine description of the true shepherd, who becomes the 
leader and ruler of men. Heart -and hand, integrity and 
skill, are all engaged and exercised in' his work. In 
Ezek. 3li*2-6, the Lord charges false shepherds with 



1^8 THE PILGRIM 



their neglect, and the terms of His charge against 
them, tell what He expects a true shepherd to do. To 
strengthen the diseased, to heal the sick, to bind the 
broken, to bring what was driven away, to seek the 
straying, are all included in shepherding the flock. 
The application is not far to seek. There are all 
these conditions in most assemblies, even among those 
whose attendance is regular. And then there are the 
absentees, the backsliders in heart, the discouraged, 
those vho need a word of cheer. How many are lost 
sight of and ultimately disappear, from lack of such 
shepherd service. Look over the names of your assembly 
for a few years back, and see how many have fallen out 
of rank! We are kept informed of the additions and 
the gains. What of the losses —losses to Christ as 
well as to us. Fewer meetings of managers to discuss 
plans and points, more visitation and real fireside 
ministry vould yield better results. Gossip visits 
and fraternal teas are not pastoral work, but the man 
who goes out and in, speaking to the hearts of God's 
people, learning of their trials, exhorting, warning, 
praying with as well as for the saints, is the man who 
does the work of a shepherd, whether he is "recognized" 
or not. And it is by his work that he is best known; 
he requires neither a title, a diploma, nor a chief 
seat in the assembly. Overseers and rulers viio do no 
such shepherd work ought to have no recognition in 
the assembly of God or be regarded as fit leaders. 
There is to be no regal rule there, no more is there 
to be democracy. Shepherd rule is the pattern set 
by the Chief Shepherd, and it is to this that all who 
serve Him among His people are to conform. May the 
living Lord raise up such shepherds. 

/-Words in Season 

CHURCH NEWS 

We of the Salida congregation were again made to 
rejoice greatly when two precious souls, namely 
Erma Crawmer and Linda Cover, were received into 
fellowship in the body of Christ by confession of 
faith and holy baptism, June Ik, 19!?9# — D # F # W t 



THE PILGRIM 1$9 



UNBELIEF 
(Condensed from the lectures of C. G* Finney, X8I4.8) 

WHAT UNBELIEF IS NOT. 

1# It Is not ignoranoe of truth. Ignorance is a blank; it 
ia the negation or absenoe of knowledge* This certainly cannot 
he the unbelief everywhere represented in the Bible as a heinous 
sin* Ignorance may be a consequence of unbelief, but cannot be 
identical -with it* We may be ignorant of certain truths as a 
oonsequenoe of rejecting others, but this ignorance is not, and, 
we shall see, cannot be unbelief # 

2* Unbelief is not the negation or absence of faith* This 
were a mere nothing— a nonentity* But a mere nothing is not 
that abominable thing which the scriptures represent as a great 
and a damning sin* 

3* It cannot be a phenomenon of the intellect, or an intell- 
ectual scepticism* This state of the intellect may result from 
the state of mind properly denominated unbelief, but it cannot 
be identical with it* Intellectual doubt or unbelief often re- 
sults from unbelief properly so called, but unbelief, when con- 
templated as a sin, should never be confounded with theoretic 
or intellectual infidelity* They are as entirely distinct as 
any two phenomena of mind whatever* 

4* It cannot consist in feelings or emotions of incredulity, 
doubt, or opposition to truth* In other words, unbelief as a 
sin cannot be a phenomenon of the sensibility* The term unbelief 
is sometimes used to express or designate a state of the intel- 
lect, and sometirras of the sensibility, It sometimes is used 
to designate a state of intellectual incredulity, doubt, dis- 
trust, scepticism* But when used in this sense, moral character 
is not justly predicable of the state of mind which the term 
unbelief represents. 

Sometimes the term expresses a mere feeling of incredulity 
in regard to truth. But neither has this state of mind moral 
character; nor can it have, for the very good reason that it is 
involuntary* In short, the unbelief that is so sorely denounced 
in the Bible, as a most aggravated abomination, cannot consist 
in any involuntary state of mind whatever* 

WHAT UNBELIEF IS. 

The term, as used in the Bible, in those passages that repre- 
sent it as a sin, must designate a phenomenon of will. It must 
be a voluntary state of mind* It must be the opposite of evan- 
gelical faith* Faith is the will* 3 reception, and unbelief is 
the will*s rejection, of truth* Faith is the' soul 1 s confiding 
in truth and in the God of truth* Unbelief is the soul*s with- 
holding confidence from t uth and the God of truth. It is the 
hearts rejection of evidence, ani refusal to be influenced by 



160 THE PILGRIM 



it. It is the mil in the attitude of opposition to truth per- 
ceived , or evidence presented* Intellectual scepticism or un- 
belief, where light is proffered, always implies the unbelief of 
the will or heart. For if the mind knows, or supposes, that 
light may be had, on any question of $uty, and does not make 
honest efforts to obtain it, this can be accounted for only by 
ascribing it to the will^ reluotance to know the path of duty. 
In this case light is rejected. The mind has light so far as to 
know that more is proffered, but this proffered light is rejected* 
This is the sin of unbelief* All infidelity is unbelief in this 
sense, and infidels are so, not for want of light, but, in general, 
they have taken much pains to shut their eyes against it. Unbe 
lief must be a voluntary state or attitude of the will, as distin- 
guished from a mere volition, or exeoutive act of the will. Voli- 
tion may, and often does, give forth, through words and deed s, 
expressions and manifestations of unbelief. But the volition 
is only a result of unbelief, and not identical with it. Unbelief 
is a deeper and more efficient and more permanent state of mind 
than mere volition. It is the will in its profound est opposition 
to the truth and will of God. 

CONDITIONS OF BOTH FAITH AND UNBELIEF, 

X« A revelation in some way to the mind, of the truth and 
will of God, must be a oondition of faith and of unbelief. Be 
it remembered, that neither faith nor unbelief is consistent with 
total ignorance. There can be unbelief no further than there 
is light. 

2. In respect to that class of truths which are discerned only 
upon condition of divine illumination, such illumination must be 

a condition bqth of faith and unbelief. It should be remarked, 
that when a truth has been once revealed by the Holy Spirit to 
the soul, the continuance of the divine light is not essential 
to the oontinuance of unbelief. The truth, once known and lodged 
in the memory, may continue to be resisted, when the agent that 
revealed it is withdrawn. 

3. Intellectual perception is a condition of the heart f s 
unbelief. The Intel Lect must have evidence of truth as the 
condition of a virtuous belief of it. So the intellect must 
have evidence of the truth, as a condition, both of the heart's 
faith and unbelief. By the assertion, that intellectual light 
is a condition of unbelief is intended, not that the intellect 
should at all times admit the truth in theory J but that the evi- 
dence must be such, that by virtue of its own laws, the mind or 
intellect could justly admit the truth rejected by the heart. 

It is a very corrmon case, that the unbeliever denies in w>rds, 
and endeavors to refute in theory, that which he nevertheless 
assumes as true in all his practical judgments. 

THE GUILT ANO ILL-DESERT OF UNBELIEF. 

We have seen, on a former occasion, that the guilt of sin is 
conditioned upon, and graduated by, the light under which it 



THE PILGRIM l6l 

Is committed. The amount of light is the measure of guilt, in 
every case of sin. This is true of all sin. But it is peculi- 
arly manifest in the sin of unbelief; for unbelief is the rejec- 
tion of light; it is selfishness in the attitude of rejecting 
truth « Of course, the amount of light rejected, and the degree 
of guilt in rejecting it, are equal. This is everywhere assumed 
and taught in the Bible, and is plainly the doctrine of reason. 

The guilt of unbelief under the light of the gospel must be 
indefinetely greater, than -when merely the light of nature is 
rejected. Theguilt of unbelief » in oases where special divine 
illumination has been enjoyed, must be vastly and incalculably 
greater, than ^where the mere light of the gospel has been enjoyed, 
-without a special enlightening of the Holy Spirit* 

The guilt of unbelief in one who has been converted, and has 
known the love of God, must be greater beyond comparison, than 
that of an ordinary sinner. Those things that are implied in 
unbelief show that it must be one of the most provoking abomin- 
ations to God in the universe. It is the perfection of all that 
is unreasonable, unjust, ruinous. It is infinitely slanderous 
and dishonorable to God, and destructive to man, and to alj. the 
interests of the kingdom of God* 

NATURAL AND GOVERNMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF BOTH FAITH AND 
UNBELIEF. 

By natural consequences are intended consequences that flow 
from the constitution and laws of mind, by a natural necessity. 
By govermental consequences are intended those that result from 
the constitution, laws, and administration of moral government. 

1. One of the natural consequences of faith is peace of 
conscience. When the will receives the truth, and yields itself 
up to conformity with it, the conscience is satisfied with its 
present attitude, and the man becomes at peace with himself. 
The soul is then in a state to really respect itself, and can, 
as it were* behold its own face without a blush. But faith in 
truth perceived is the unalterable condition of a man*s being 
at peaoe with himself. 

A governmental consequence of faith is peace with God: — 

(l.) In the sense that God is satisfied with the present, 
obedience of the soul. It is given up to be influenced by ail 
truth, and this is comprehensive of al 1 duty. Of course God is. 
at peace with the soul, so far as its present obedience is don— 
oerned. 

(2.) Faith government ally results in peace with God, in the 
sense of being a oondition of pardon and acceptance. That is, 
the penalty of the law for past sins is remitted upon condition 
of true faith in Christ. The soul not only needs present and 
future obedience, as a necessary condition of peace with self; 
but it also needs pardon and acceptance on the part of the 



162 THE PILGRIM 



government for past sins, as a condition of peace with God* 
But since the subject of justification or acceptance with God 
is to oome up as, a distinct subject for consideration* I will 
not enlarge upon it here* ,' 

2. Self-condemnation is one of the natural consequences of 
unbelief. Such are the constitution and laws of mind, that is 
natuarally impossible for the mind to justify the heart's re- 
jection of truth. On the contrary, the conscience necessarily 
condemns such rejection, and pronounces judgment against it. 

Legal condemnation is a necessary governmental consequence 
of unbelief. No just government can justify the rejection of 
known truth. But, on the contrary, all just governments must 
utterly, abhor and condemn the rejection of truths, and especi- 
ally those truths that relate to the ^obedience of the subject, 
and the highest well— being of the rulers and ruled. The govern- 
ment of God must condemn and utterly abhor all unbelief, as a 
rejection of those truths that are indispensable to the highest 
well— being of the universe. 

3. A holy or obedient life results from faith by a natural 
or necessary law. Faith is an act of will which controls the 
life by a law of necessity. It follows of course that, when 
the heart receives or obeys the truth, the outward life must 
be conformed to it. 

4. A disobedient and unholy life results from unbelief also 
by a law of necessity. If the heart rejects the truth, of course 
the life will not be conformed to it. 

5. Faith will develop every form of virtue in the heart and 
life, as their occasions shall arise. It consists in the com- 
mitting of the will to truth and to the God of truth. Of course 
as different occasions arise, faith will secure conformity to 
all truth on all subjects, and then every modification of virtue 
will exist in the heart, and appear in the life, as circumstances 
in the providence of God shall develop them. 

6. Unbelief may be expected to develop resistance to all 
truth upon all subjects that conflict with selfishness; and 
hence nothing but selfishness in some form can restrain its 
appearing in any other and every other form possible or conceiv- 
able. It consists, be it remembered, in the heart's rejection 
of truth, and of course implies the cleaving to error. The 
natural result of this must be the development in the heart, 

and the app trance in the life, of every form of selfishness 
that is not -prevented by some other form. For example * avarice 
may restrain amativeness, intemperance, and many other forms of 
selfishness. 

7. Faith, government ally resutts in obtaining help of God. 
God may and does gratuitously help those who have no faith. 
But this is not a governmental result or act in God. But to 



THE PILGRIM \6% 



the obedient he extends his governmental protection and aid* 

8. Faith lets God into the soul to dwell and reign there* 
Faith receives, not only the atonement and mediatorial work of 
Christ as a redeemer from punishment, but it also receives Christ 
as King to set up his throne, and reign in the heart* Faith 
secures to the soul communion with God* 

9* Unbelief shuts God out of the soul, in the snese of re- 
fusing his reign in the heart. It also shuts the soul out from 
an interest in Christ f s mediatorial work* This results not 
from an arbitrary appointment, but is a natural oonsequence* 
Unbelief shuts the soul out from communion with God. 

These are hints at some of the natural and governmental con- 
sequences of faith and unbelief* They are designed not to ex- 
haust the subject, but merely to call attention to topics which 
any one who desires may pursue at his pleasure. It should be 
here remarked, that none of the ways, commandments, or appoint- 
ments of God are arbitrary. Faith is a naturally indispensable 
condition of salvation, which is the reason of its being made 
a governmental condition. Unbelief renders salvation naturally 
impossibles it must, therefore, render it government ally impos- 
sible. 

Next: JUSTIFICATION* 

WHERE IS THE PROMISE? 
"Where is the promise," scoff eres aajc 

"When Christ shall come again?" 
But he shall come in 'spite of all 

The jeers of godless men, 

"Where is the promise?" tortured souls 
Have asked through pain-racked years; 

"When shall he come?" the sufferer cries. 
With anguished heart and tears. 

When shall he come? Oh, do not doubt, 

Believe him, lad and lass, 
No word he spoke has ever failed; 

This too shall come to pass J 

And Christ will come; have faith in him 

Who died to save lost men; 
Believe his word; His promise stands; 

Our Christ will come again J 

— Selected, 



16U THE PILGRIM 



JHtstomal 



. THE CHURCH IN THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES 

. Our earliest knowledge of the existence of Christi- 
anity in 'France is derived from it calamities. During 
the persecution of Marcus Antoninus, the churches of 
Vienne and Lyons sent a relation of their sufferings to 
those of Asia and Phrygia/ wMch is -by some ascribed to 
the^ pen of Irenaeus. It is written with simplicity and 
beauty, and is one of the most affecting passages in 
the ancient history of Christianity. Pothinus, the 
bishopj vith several other, underwent the last infliction; 
still. we- have not reason to believe that the religion 
was at that time, (A.D. 177,) widely diffused in the 
Country; probably, indeed, the same Pothinus first in- 
troduced it from the East. Irenaeus, the learned and 
zealous combatant of heresy, succeded to the dangerous 
eminence of Pothinus, ana under his prolonged and vigi- 
lant protection Christianity took deep root, and finally 
fixed itself in the soil of France. According to the 
best authorities, he died in the year 202, 

It was. an early belief that St, Mark first preached 
his gospel at Alexandria, and founded churches there; 
and he is expressly mentioned by Eusebius, as the first 
bishop of that city. The same writer asserts that a 
multitude of converts, both men and women, listened to 
his instruction, from 'their very first delivery. The 
evidence which he brings for this fact is not quite 
conclusive, but other circumstances render it highly 
probable. The population of Alexandria was very num- 
erous, and composed of every variety of race and super- 
stition- so that no general prejudice against the intro- 
duction of a new religion could exist there; it was 
commercial, and therefore enlightened; and it was also 
remarkable for the ardor with >hich it cultivated every 
branch of literature, the facility with /viiich it admit- 
ted and reconciled philosophical tenets the most dis- 
similar, and the freedom which it indulged to every 
noveltv of truth or speculation. Again, through the 



THE PILGRIM 16$ 



number of Jews originally established there at the foun- 
dation of the city, and continually increased by their 
domestic calamities j through the moderation and even 
liberality of those Jews, as compared to their brethren 
in other countries, and especially through the Septuag- 
int translation of the Old Testament, tfaich was there 
chiefly circulated, and studied by the learned of eveyy 
sect, the knowledge of the true God was more generally 
diffused in Alexandria than in any, other Gentile city, 
and the minis of men in some degree prepared to receive 
the second Govenant. We do not pretend to assert that 
they received it in entire purity r or with a perfect 
comprehension of its true character and inestimable ad- 
vantages; but we doubt not that a vast number believed 
and were baptised, and constituted, under the holy 
guidance of the Evangelist and his successors, a respec- 
table and powerful community. St. Mark was succeeded 
by Anianus, and the Latin names of many of the following 
bishops persaude us that the same alliance and continued 
intercourse subsisted between the ecclesiastical, as 
between the civil, governments of Home and Alexandria* 

Vopiscus, an historian who flouished about 300, A.D., 
has preserved a letter, written by the Emperor Adrian 
in the year 13U, immediately after his visit to Alexan- 
dria. Its. contents are nearly as follows:— 'I have 
found Egypt in every quarter fickle and inconstant — 
the worshippers of Serapis and Christians, and those 
are devoted to Serapis who call themselves Christian %t . 
Bishops. There is no ruler of the synagogue, no Samari- 
tan, no presbyter of' the Christians, no mathematician, 
no soothsayer, no anointer; even the patriarch himself, 
should he come into Egypt, is compelled by some to wor- 
ship Serapis, by others Christ- a most seditious and 
turbulent sort cf men. However, the city is rich and 
populous , . . . They have one God: him the Christians, 
him the Jews, him all the Gentile people worship 1 We. 
need not be surprised or offended by the insolent levity 
with which the profligate imperial philosopher, places 
the religion of Serapis on a level with that of Christ, 
while through the numerous misrepresentations so obvious 
in these sentences, one important truth may be descried. 



166 THE PILGRIM 



They manifestly prove, that, within a hundred years 
from the resurrection of Christ, his worshippers formed 
at least an important part of the inhabitants of the 
second city of the empire j and, perhaps, it is not un- 
fair from this record to conclude, that they were as 
numerous as those who remained attached to the indige- 
nous superstitions. 

There is another circumstance vjhich increased the 
importance we should attach to the early prosperity of 
the Alexandrian Church. Before the birth of Christ, a 
very great proportion of the learning of the Eastern 
world had been transferred from the schools of Greece 
to those of Alexandria. Not that Athens was entirely 
abandoned by disputants, or even by philosophers; but 
the uncertain renown which is still maintained was 
surpassed by the splendid institutions of a city, 
whose literary triumph was preceded, and perhaps occas- 
ioned, by its commercial superiority. The early 
Christians felt the necessity of education, though they 
differed as to its proper limits and object. We are 
-told that St. John erected a school at Ephesus, and 
Polycarp at Smyrna, and even that St. Mark originally 
established the Catechetical School at Alexandria. 
There can be no doubt that these schools, by whomsoever 
established, were useful in the propagation of religion; 
but it was long before any of them produced any persons 
of great literary merit. Pantaenus a convert from 
stoicism, who flourished about 180, A.D., directed and 
adorned for several years that of Alexandria. He resi- 
gned his office in 190, in order more effectually to 
serve his religion as a missionary. His exertions were 
directed, with what success we know not. to the higher 
regions of the Nile. He was succeeded by Clemens, com- 
monly called the Alexandrian, and Clemens by the cele- 
brated Origen, whose fame, however, belongs to the 
third century. It ia only necessary here to observe, 
that these learned Christians being tinctured with cer- 
tain philosophical notions which they were desirous to 
reconcile with the Gospel, and influenced by the society 
of those professing them, have very frequently distorted 
and discolored the features of their religion. 



THE PILGRIM 16? 



At the end of the second century, the Church of Car- 
thage was already growing into eminence; but we shall 
not at present do more than notice its existence, 

— Waddington's History of the Church 

"NOBILITY" 

True -worth is in being , not seeming, — 

In doing, each Say that goes by, 
Some little good —not in dreaming 

Of great things to do by and by. 
For whatever men say in their blindness, 

-And spite of the fancies of youth, 
There's nothing so kindly as kindness, 

And nothing so royal as truth. 

We get back our mote as wo measure*— 

We oannot do wrong and feel right, 
Nor oan we give pain and feel pleasure, 

For justice avenges each slight. 
The air for the wing of the sparrow. 

The bush for the robin and wren, 
B ut always the path that is narrow 

And straight, for the children of men* 

We cannot make bargains for blisses, * 

Nor catch them like fishes in nets; 
And sometimes the thing our life misses 

Helps more than the thing whioh it gets. 
For good lieth not in pursuing, 

Nor gaining of great nor of small, 
But just in the doing, and doing 

As we would be done by, is all. 

Through envy, through malice, through hating, 

Against the world, early and late, 
No jot of our courage abating * — 

Our part is to work and to wait. 
And slight is the string of his trouble 

Whose winnings are less than his worth; 
For he who is honest is noble, 

Whatever his fortunes or birth* 

—Selected 



168 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
— GAIATIONS — 

Paul's letter to Galatia was written shortly after 
he was there and started the Church. He, hearing 
that they were moved from the gospel of Christ, wrote 
them wondering what moved them to leave the faith and 
wrote them many things concerning their faults . 

Paul seemingly had great influence over the people 
of Galatia in the beginning of the Church but soon 
after he left, certain Jews came in the Church and 
tried to pervert the gospel. First they got the people 
to lose their confidence in Paul and then in Grace. 

In the first part of his letter he explains to them 
his conversion and apostle ship, that he was an apostle 
(not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ,) 
that his knowledge was from God, not from the other 
apostles. 

The second chapter gives us the instance of how 
Peter and Barnabas were also carried away with their 
infected religion and how Paul reproved them. 

The last four chapters are largely devoted to their 
faults, and instructing them how they should live, and 
explains how we are free from the law and that there's 
no need of circumcision or any Judaism to become a 
Christian. 

Complete the following quotations:— 

1. I am crucified with never thelesn I live; 

yet not , but Christ liveth in : and the which 

I now in the flesh and live by the of the Son 

of , who loved , and himself for , 

2. Stand fast therefore in the wherewith 

hath made us , and be not again with the of 

bondage. 

3« Be not , is not mockedj for whatsoever a 

soweth, that ^ he also # 

— Kenneth Martin, Nappannee, Indiana 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 AUGUST, 1959 NO, 8 



"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrim*, abstai 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul/ 1 Peter 2; 1 1 



sacred head surrounded 
By crown cf piercing thorn 4 

bleeding head, so wounded. 
Reviled and put to s corn I 

Death's pallid hue cornea o*er thee, 

The glow of life decays, 
Yet angel hosts adore thee, 

.And tremble as they gaze* 

1 see thy strength and vigour* 
All fading in the strif e* 

And death with cruel rigour, 

Bereaving thee of life; 
agony and dying I 

love to sinners free* 
Jesus, all grace supplying, 

turn thy face on roe * 

In this, thy bitter passion, 

Good Shepherd, think of me 
With thy most sweet compassion, % « 

Unworthy though I be; 
Beneath thy cross abiding 

For ever would I rest, 
In thy dear love confiding, 

And with thy presence blest* 

Be near when I am dying; 

show thy cross to me; 
And to my succour flying, 

Come, Lord, and set me free. 
These eyes, now faith receiving, 

From thee shall never move; 
For he who dies believing, 

Dies safely in thy love. 

— Selected 



in 



170 THE PILGRIM 



THE PIIGRIM is o religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies tent free on request. Addresst THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THE COMMUNION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST 

"I speak as to wise men; judge ye what X say* The cup of 
blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not 
the oorammion of the body of Christ? For we being many 
are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of 
that one bread e" I Core 10; 15*17 

*No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and 
oherisheth it, oven as the Lord the churoh: For we arc 
members of his body, of. his flesh, and of his bones ** 

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all 
the members of that. one body, being many, are one body; 
so also is Christ* For by one Spirit are we all baptis- 
ed into one body, » * • For the body is not one member, 
but many*" I Cor* 12: 12^14. 

The members of Christ* s body are as closely related, then, 
as the members of the natural body, which is all "one bread" 
(or food), for the body is what it feeds upone "For we are all 
partakers of that one bread* 1 * — Christ.. For ,f I am the living 
bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, 
he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my 
flesh f which I will give for the life of the world* ♦ • As the 
living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father: so he that 
eateth me, even he shall live by me* 11 Jno* 6: 51-57* 

"Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, 
This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" 

This is indeed so great a mystery that Jesus ordained a 
symbolic ceremony to demonstrate to the churoh its meaning* 

•For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto 
vou, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed 
took breads And when he had ,given thanks, he brake it, and said, 
Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in 
remembrance of me* .After the same manner also he took the crap, 
when he had supped, saying, This pup is the New Testament in my 
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me» 
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do 
shew the Lord's death till he oome* w 

Much has been said, and well said, about the Atonement and 
"finished work 1 * of Christ on the cross for the remission of sins* 



THE PILGRIM , 171 



But the WORK of the church was then only begun. For, Jesus said* 
"He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he dOjalso;/ 
and greater works than these shall he do: because I go unto my 

Father." Jno. 14: 12. * . ;■ " •■;. 

Human reasoning often over-emphasizes or eacalts one truth at 
the expenoe of minimizing another* And this appears to hare 
been done by some in the ohurch at -Corinth. Chapter 2; 2 shows 
that Paul had preached to them the crucified Lord. No doubt 
they understood about the Atonement and the grace of God; for ■ 
in chapter 1: 2-7 they were "Sanctified", and, "in every thing 
they were enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge ." 
They were not '"wanting" or "coming behind" in any "gift" and 
were waiting for the coming of the Lord. They were zealous of 
spiritual gifts (chap. 14:12) and evidently "had the gift of 
speaking with tongues. But while they flourished in these areas 
of Christian experience, they had overlooked one great important 
truth, and that was, the UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. " Their 
theology embraced the Spirit, but it .did not ^discern" the BODY 
of Christ. They were not "perfectly joined" in Christ. And 
chapter 13 infers they also lacked, in charity. 

Almost Paul's whole letter seems to be concerned with their 
need to understand more about the BODY of Christ* No preacher 
can truly preach Christ and saving grace without telling of the 
cross and His shed blood for the remission of sins. Neither can 
he be a true minister of the gospel without teaching the New 
Testament doctrine concerning the body of Christy which is his 
' church, which Paul says in I Tim. 3:15 is "the pillar and ground 
of the truth." Indeed Christ could not have died on the cross 
to make an atonement for sins if he had not had a body. For/ 
"A body hast thou prepared me ... to do thy will God .... 
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the 
body of Jesus Christ once for all." Heb. 10: 7-10. 

In the natural, only through the body can the spirit give 
expression of any kind. And the same is true of the Holy Spirit 
and the body of Christ in the world. Herein lies the inconsist- 
ency of the "invisible" ohurch idea. . Vfe are told in the Greek 
lexicons that the meaning of the word which is translated "church" 
is quite the opposite of invisible; that it means assembly, or 
"called out" persons— from their private homes and affairs into 
the public assembly to consider and deal with matters of public 
interest* One writer has said, "As surely as the body without 
the spirit is dead, so also the spirit without the body is but 
a phantom." 

How dear then to the ohurch is the communion of the body and 
blood of the Lord. And how significant are Its emblems. The 
bread represents his broken body (crucified Lord) and also signi- 
fies the Living Bread, for in the church Christ has. a living 
body. So, also the cup represents his shed blood for the re- 
mission of sins and also the New Covenant relationship. For 
the forgiveness of sins is a part of the New Covenant relation- 



172 THE PILGRIM 



ship, and is the "new and living -way" by which, through the 
Holy Ghsst, Christ dwells in the members of his body* For, "I 
will put my laws in their hearts, and their sins and iniquities 
will I remember no more* Heb* 10* 16,17* 

From the foregoing consideration it is most evident that the 
communion of the body of Christ is not an individual ceremony, 
as the advocates of "open 1 * communion assert: that "we commune 
with the Lord and not with men*" But this idea does not reoog- 
ize n«r discern the Lord's BODY, which is the church, and, as 
one has said, "If this be true, why have a public service at all* 
If it is not a ohuoh ordinance for which the church is respon- 
sible for its observance and administration, then any member 
may of his own volition eat it to himself and the Lord in his 
secret closet or at his own private table in the home* 

We see the apostle is greatly concerned about the unity and 
community of the body of Christ from the 17th verse to the end 
of the 11th chapter of I Cor*, the main burdon of which is that 
it is impossible for them to eat the Lord's supper and common- 
ion free of condemnation so long as they remain in parties, or 
a divided condition (verses 18-20) for in that condition they 
were unworthy to represent the Lord's body or to partake of the 
emblems of its unity* "But let a man examine himself, and so 
let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup* For he that 
eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation 
to himself, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD'S BODY." 

We believe to discern the Lord , s body will be to discern both 
the crucified Lord on the cross, and the living body, the churoh* 
Those who assort that they commune with the Lord and not with 
men,, place the emphasis on "himself" in verse 28, but we believe 
it belongs more properly on "examine*"* In other words, Do not 
eat of these emblem of the Lord's body until there has first been 
a self examination* For if we discern the Lord's body we must 
diaoern that we are joined to him and oneanother in membership 
as closely as the members of the natural body* Will we make 
the members of Qhri&t's body the members of sin? Jesus said, 
"As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the 
Lord's death until he come*" Can we shew the Lord's death if 
we have not died with him to sin? "For as many of us as were 
baptised into Christ were baptised into his death. Therefore 
we are buried with him by baptism into death* Rom* 6s 3,4* 
Will we dare to hold up the crucified Lord to the gaae of men, 
and not deny ourselves and take up his cross daily? Will we 
partake of the emblems of Christ's broken body and shed blood 
for our sins, and not bring ourselves into judgment for sin? as 
is said in verses 31* 32* "For if we would judge ourselves we 
should not be judged* But when we are judged we are chastened 
of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world*' 1 

We have heard it said by some, that i a moment of threatened 
death, "I thought of every thing I ever did*" We believe some* 
thing of this nature is intended in self examination* before one 



THE PILGRIM 173 



partakes of the emblems of the body and blood of the Lord; that, 
we should first examine our lives and motives and bring them 
into judgement under the chastening of the Lord, Certainly, 
without his cleansing and forgiveness we oould never partake 
worthily* But by honest self examination, in the light of his 
truth and supreme sacrifice for sin, we become conscious of our 
sins and unworthiness, and thus bring jud^nent and chastisement 
upon ourselves and come to him in confession and true repentance, 
and plead the merits of his cleansing sacrifice in our behalf* 
"For if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the 
truth is not in us. .If we confess pur sins, he is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness*" I Jno. Is 8,9 # We believe this is the only means 
whereby anyone can beoome* worthy to n eat of that bread and 
drinjc of that cup." 

"We wish yet to sound a warning lest anyone should attempt to 
use this means as a provision to continue in sin; for such would 
be to "oruoify the Lord afresh and put him to an open shame*" 

This gracious provision can only be used in the deepest 
sincerety and contrition of heart. No Christian can ever intend 
anything less than total obedience to Christ and his word* But 
with such purity of motive and intention, then the Lord has pro- 
vided that by self examination and judgment we can receive the 
chastening of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the 
world* . - , 

Neither do we believe that we should, year after year, bring 
our old sins to mind for which we have repented and felt for- 
givenessi for in that way we never oould obtain a victory, And 
Satan would gain an advantage of us; for he would have us to 
continue in guilt and never be able to rise above our sins* 
This is no doubt -the meaning of Romans 8: 1,2* 

Therefore, let us believe in God's gracious promise and 
provision for cleansing AND GO AND SIN NO MORE. — D.F.W. 

HATE THE EVIL! 

A famous minister, preaching' to his people, said, "I 
want you to have a holy aversinn to sin. Do you know 
what I mean by aversion? Suppose any of you were to 
put your hand into your pocket and feel a toad there, 
you would draw it out instantly from an aversion to the 
reptile * Do just so with regard to sin*" 

"Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity*" 
Heb. 1:9. We utterly deceive ourselves if we blandly 
talk about "loving righteousness, " unless we at the same 
time HATE INiauiTYJ If I actually love cleanliness,— 
I must abhor filtht . If I love honesty, I hate dishonesty. 
"Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 

—Selected, 



17U THE PILGRIM 



VISION 
CARNAL vs. SPIRITUAL 
By David A # Skiles 

In the above two forms of vision we have a very 
marked contrast, even as between joy and sorrow* light 
and darkness, hope and despair, good and evil, and last 
but not least, life and death. It is said of the Word 
of God that it is its own interpreter. So we go there 
to ascertain what constitutes carnality, as also the 
merits of spirituality. In I Cor. 3> we read, "And I 
brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, 
but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ, . . 
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you 
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, 
and walk as MEN? 11 Thus implying that these character- 
istics are fruits of carnality, and features of MEN, 
not CHRISTIANS. 

By what we find in Gal, 5, it is evident that car- 
nality and the works of the flesh produce paralell 
fruits, and consequences, and so must be of equal ori- 
gin. In Rom. 8, it is stated in no uncertain terms 
that "To be carnally minded is- death, but to be spiri- 
tually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal 
mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject 
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they 
that are in the flesh cannot please God," This is 
positive language and definitely limits man in his 
fleshly or .Adamic state to a very restricted vision. 
And here is tfiat the apostle Paul must have had in mind 
where he says in I Cor. 2,9. "Eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, 
the things which God hath prepared for them that love 
him. 11 But he goes on in the next verse in equally de- 
finite language to say, "But God hath revealed them un- 
to us by his spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all 
things, yea the deep things of God." Verses 12 to Ik, 
"Now we received not the spirit of the world, but the 
spirit which is of Godj that we might know the things 
that are freely given to us of God « . Which things also 
we'speak, not in the words vhich man's wisdom teacheth, 



THE PJLGRIM Yf$ 



but which the Holy Ghost teachethj comparing spiritual 
things with spiritual . But the carnal mind receive th 
not the things of the Spirit of God:. . for they are fool- 
ishness unto him, neither can he know them, because 
they are spiritually discerned. 11 

So it is evident that the carnal eye or mind is ig- 
norant of, or cannot comprehend the comforting, and 
enduring precious benefits, ,an4 security of the truly 
born again sons and' daughters of God, ytxo have been 
endowed with the Holy Ghost, sent down from Heaven, 
which things are hid from the wise (worldly wise) and 
prudent. But revealed to babes in Christ. 

Of the many meritorious blessings that follow the. 
new birth of water,, and of thq Holy Spirit, is the know- 
ledge of the atoning blood of Chris t in "the pardon of 
our sins. The crucifixion of the flesh, with its un- 
godly lusts for that which is evil. .Instead/ a love for 
the truth, Translation from the powers of darkness, 
into the kingdom of the dear Son of God. The peace of 
God, peace with God and man. The faith and confidence 
in his unfailing promises, born into his kingdom, and 
family, in constant communication with the Father in 
prayer and supplication. Partakers of his- lifegiving 
flesh and blood, for he hath said,:' "He that eateth my 
flesh, and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in • 
him." What kinship with the Father, who hath said to 
his own, "I will never leave nor. forsake them, assumes 
all their care, for he careth for them." 

The Holy Spirit poses sed delight in doing the com- 
mandments of the Lord, in Godliness with contentment 
which is great gain. What love sublime that pan pray 
for an enemy, or such that di spitefully use us, and 
accuse falsely, such attitude can eminate only from 
the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit reveal in 
the blessed Hope, that maketh not ashamed, having pro- 
mise of the life that now is, and of 'that, which is to 
come? True, the glass or veil may be somewhat shaded, 
yet who but him rtiose vision is obstructed by carnality 
can fail to see the fullness of glory in the celestial 
beyond, when God himself and the Holy City will come 
down from heaven unto the new earth to dwell with his 



176 THE PILGRIM 



blood washed saints, when all tears shall be wiped 

away, and death, sorrow, crying, and pain will have 

faded into oblivion. And that through ceaseless 

ETERNITY. D .„ T ,. 

— Rossvxlle, Indxana. 

FIRE BAPTISM 
By J, I. Cover 

The Baptism of Fire, or suffering, was manifest in 
the life of Jesus, who was "in all points tempted as 
we are yet without sin." and who after he was baptized 
with water, and the Holy Ghost said, "I have a baptism 
to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till it 
be accomplished}" Luke 12:£0 also tells his disciples 
"Ye shall be baptized with the baptism that I am bap- 
tized with." This suffering "the just for the unjust," 
began soon after he was baptized in Jordan, in meeting 
Satan, "suffered being tempted," bearing this reproach 
of the jews who spoke evil of him, and tempted him many 
time; all this he bore with fortitude, leading up to 
the great trial in the garden of suffering, and upon 
the cross of Calvary in it all "learned he obedience by 
the things vfaich he suffered" he was made perfect 
through sufferings. "Christ once suffered for sins" 
(our sins). "Jesus hath appeared to put away sin by 
the sacrifice of himself." Heb. 9:26. 

This baptism of fire of suffering works upon all 
Christians through life while upon the narrow way. 

This baptism is threefold in working: 

1. To suffer persecution for righteousness 1 sake, 
Matt. 5:10,11. To suffer as a Christian, I Peter !±:16. 
To suffer for Jesus 1 sake, Phil. 1:29. To purify our 
souls in obeying the truth, I Peter 1:22. 

2. Ey purging. To suffer chastisement for our sins: 
"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" Heb. 12:6. The 
purging chastening work: to bear more fruit, John 15* j/ 
Yielding " the fruit of righteousness; unto holiness" 
Heb. 12:11, Rom. 6:19. 

3. The fire of separation, and destruction of sin- 
ful works, Luke 12:1*9* "They shall gather out of his 
kingdom all things that offend. . ♦ and shall cast them 



THE PILGRIM 1?7 



into a furnace of fire" Matt. 13:1+1,1*2. "If any man ! s 
work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he him- 
self shall be saved yet so as by fire." I Cor. 3:15* 
The above only applies to those who build upon the foun- 
dation, I Cor. 3-12. The foundation upon a rock, Luke 
6:U8* This fire of separation, separates families, 
relatives, groups, congregations (as the seven churches 
of Asia) as well as the good and evil in the lives of 
Christians. 

The Holy Spirit that reproves of sin, of righteous- 
ness, and of judgement; fans (Matt. 3:12) the baptism 
of fire to the purifying, purging, and the final sepa- 
rating of the Christians from all evil works, consuming 
all the dross,, burning the wood, hay and stubble, and 
burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire, Matt. 3:12 
and so traveling on "from righteousness unto holiness" 
Horn. 6:19. "^or as much then as Christ hath suffered 
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the 
same mind, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath 
ceased from sin." I Peter U:l. "But the God of all 
grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by 
Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered awhile, make 
you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." I Peter 
5:10. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the 
will of God commit the keeping of their souls in well 
doing as unto a faithful Creator, I Peter i|:19. The 
threefold baptism of the water, the Holy Ghost, and of 
fire; each threefold in working mingled together in 
one, as we read, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one 
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through 
all, and in you all." Eph. It: 56. 

When the suffering days are ended, 
• And we enter into rest; 

When at last we have ascended, 

And have passed through every test. 

When the burning and the trials, 
Shows at last the precious gold; 

When we pass all self denials, 
And have entered in the fold. 



178. 



THE PILGRIM 



: When the sins that are so loathing, 
Leave us standing pure and white; 
In the bright eternal clothing, 
When we leave the shores of night. 

When our being, free, expanding; 

Perfect body, Spirit soulj 
Angels guide to happy landing, 

Where eternal ages roll. 

When all earthly sorrows over, 

And the good within us grows j 
When we quit the land of rover, 

Where no stormy teirpest blows. 

When we know at last the blessing, 

When we suffer for his sake, ' 
When we feel his kind caressing, 

Standing on the crystal lake* * 

When we cross the chilly waters 

See our Saviour face to. face; . 
Be . our Fathers * so ns and daughters , 
. Ransomed souls of every race. 
, '• — Star Route, Sonor a, California 
r ; ! Next: The Process of Evil. 

THE SHIFTING SANDS OF 
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT 

Theology is an honored and honorable science.. As. 
a true science it seeks to set forth in order the doc- 
trines and principles of the Word of God, with their 
application to life in terms of practical theology. 

One cannot but marvel at the large element of cer- 
tainty in Christian truth. God has revealed Himself 
and His will in such a manner that the way is plain and 
that the truth may be clear. It is only as man has 
corrupted it with large elements of human error that 
obscurity and confusion enters. 

It is this empirical aspect of theology that should 
give us concern. It is when it comes to be based on, 



THE PILGRIM X 79 



or influenced so largely by, human reasoning and human 
experience that it becomes unworthy of being regarded 
as a science. 

There are fashions or trends in theology which tend 
to shift from time to time. Before World War I, moder- 
nism, as based upon the so-called Higher Criticism, 
became the theological fashion of the hour. It threat- 
ened to sweep all before it, but was prevented from 
doing so by the rise of a militant fundamentalism as a 
counter movement. The experience of two world wars 
also served largely to discredit the old Modernism. 

But in the process, a new mode of theological thought 
came into vogue known as neo-orthodoxy. This was a 
partial return to the old concepts of theology, but it 
has failed significantly in many respects to stand the 
tests of a true theology. 

The theological climate tends to change aa it is 
influenced by different personalities. Once it was a 
Calvin that so influenced it as to lastingly leave his 
name upon a system of theology. Arminius and his 
Wesleyan followers left their impress upon another sys- 
tem. The old modernism had its Sehleirmacher and later 
its Fosdick, the latter still living. The social gos- 
pel, a by-product of modernism, had its early apostles 
in Walter Rauschenbusch and Shaiier Matthews, Today, 
the new orthodoxy owes its influence largely to the 
thinking of one Karl Barth. 

Christian people usually come strongly under the 
influence of one or more of these systems. There is 
no escaping it. Our people read books and unwittingly 
accept Calvinistic and other ideas contrary to our 
church beliefs. Our ministers go to seminary and are 
strongly influenced by the emphasis of the particular 
denominational belief to which they are exposed. 

Moreover, the theological climate often changes with- 
in a particular denomination. We read recently an 
article by a high-calvinist writer in which he deplored 
the weakening of Calvinism in his denomination, as- 
scribing it to the inroads of Arminianism and their 
failure to systematically teach the Calvinistic beliefs. 
We smile at this. But the converse is also true; we 



180 THE PILGRIM 



are feeding at Calvinistic sources, which cannot help 
but break down regard for the principles undergirding 
our heritage* Theological students today are coming 
strongly under the influence of neo-orthodoxy and it 
is having its effects already on the Church. 

A sound theology is necessary* In spite of slight- 
ing references sometimes made to it in our circles, 
we do have a theology, and we need it. While we have 
never had a great systematic theologian, we do have 
our beliefs set forth in various confessions of faith 
and in other works of doctrine. These have served to 
tie the past to the present in a doctrinal sense, and 
haVe also served to bring a measure of doctrinal as- 
surance into our thought. 

A constant temptation to the theologian is to tarry 
on Mars Hill in the hearing and the telling of some 
new thing. He becomes enamoured of ideas. A "new 
discovery" of truth takes. form and is widely dissemi- 
nated through theological journals, books, and the 
lecture. These "tides come and go, but not without in- 
fluencing a whole generation or more of people, some- 
times poisoning the spiritual streams from which they 
innocently drink. 

In contrast to a certain theological arrogance that 
is readily discernible in some of the prevailing types 
of modern scholarship, one comes back to the fact that 
the f ountain head of true theology is in the Word of 
God and that the truth most nearly lies with a type of 
scholarship that handles the Word most reverently* 
When all the "new discoveries" are in and shall have 
run their day, we have the strong assurance that many 
of the old conservative masters of theology shall 
stand vindicated. 

— Adapted from The Sword and Trumpet, 1?58 

THE NECESSITY OF CHOICE 

Christianity is not inherited biologically. The 

individual must choose a life of fellowship with God 

if such a life is to exist. 

It is possible for second-generation Christians to 
join the. church without thinking through the implica- 



THE PILGRIM 181 



tions of becoming a Christian, In the context of the 
state church, where infants are baptized, church mem- 
bership is effected without personal choice* In some 
parts of the world entire villages are considered 
Christian. This is to equate the population with chiich 
membership and to consider every individual a, Christ- 
ian. This means that every child in the village has 
been baptized and made a member of the church. Even 
in churches where believers 1 baptism is held as a 
theory, it is possible for an individual to join the 
church under social pressure at a certain age without 
accepting the claims of Jesus Christ. When this hap- 
pens there is little difference between the baptism of 
an infant and the baptism of an adolescent. Neither 
the infant nor the adolescent has made a personal de- 
cision to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

The crucial issue in* the choice that- needs to be 
made- concerns the person of Jesus Christ. It is impos- 
sible to evade responsibility for making a decision re- 
garding Him. Decision is of the very essence of per- 
sonality^ ani this is especially the case in the per- 
sonal crisis of deciding for or against Jesus Christ. 
The refusal to make a choice concerning Him is the same 
as making a negative choice. 

A decision in favor of Jesus Christ implies the ac- 
ceptance of the claims ef disciplediip. Elmer G. 
Homrighausen in his book, "Choose Ye This Day 1 ', says; 

"Jesus spoke ~ of the single eye, the two ways, the - 
one thing needful, the great judgment. * To come after 
him men must deny themselves, take up their crosses 
and follow him. They cannot serve God aid mammon. 
Even father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and 
sisters are not to be valued above Jesus and "his King- 
dom. True to the character of God he revealed, his 
demands are uncompromising. God is a jealous God. 
Life's closest ties and values are not to be first, 
but they are to be subordinated to him. 

"If any man will come after me, let him deny him- 
self, and take up his cross, and follow me, 11 Matt.l6:2l4« 

— Selected 



182 THE PILGRIM 



SENIORITY AND ELECTION 

There arf many instances in the Bible where the 
calling and election of God was of the younger and not 
the firstborn; as in Cain and Abel, Isastc and Ishmael, 
Jacob and Esau, Ephraim and Manasseh, and David, etc. 
These all seem to be a pattern of God ! s election as 
opposed to apparent seniority "rights." "For the child- 
ren being not yet born, neither having done any good 
or evil, THAT THE PURPOSE OF GOD ACCORDING TO ELECTION 
MIGHT STAND, not of works, but of him that calleth, it 
was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger." 

Whatever seniority rights man may have had were 
forfeited in Eden in the fall, and thenceforth God was 
morally free to elect whomsoever he would to be heirs 
of his kingdom. Adam apparently had first right to it 
but he made a wrong choice and failed of his opportun- 
ity. God was just in that he gave him full liberty to 
choose, and gracious in that he warned him of the con- 
sequences if he should do the forbidden thing. But in 
spite of the opportunity and warning, he disobeyed and 
lost his seniority as head of the race. 

God cannot be bound by any apparent human rights or 
seniority. If he were he could not be sovereign and 
Satan would have the advantage. The order of obligate 
ion would be reversed. This is illustrated in the 
parable of the workers in the vineyard. "Cannot I do 
with mine own as I will? Is thine eye evil because 
I am good?" 

Whatever order may have been before the fall, it is 
clear that since that time all the rights and blessing 
that man may ever have or expect, will be wholly by 
the grace and calling or election of God motivated 
solely by his love and mercy. And now FAITH and not 
seniority is the ground and condition of acceptance. 

The rulers of the Jews in Jesus time thought that 
they were heirs of the kingdom by virtue of human 
birthrights and seniority. But Jesus did not recognize 
their claim, and gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven 
to his disciples and made them the new heads or princes 
of the kingdom. Thus the last became first and the 
first last. — D.F.W. 



THE PILGRIM 183 



JUSTIFICATION 
(Condensed from the lectures of C.-G* Finney, I8I48) 

CHRIST is represented in the gospel as sustaining to men 
three classes of relations « 

I* Those which are purely governmental* • 

2* Those which are purely spiritual* 

3 Those whioh unite both these. 

Wa shall at present consider him as Christ our Justification* 

I* VtfHAT GOSPEL JUSTIFICATION IS NOT, 

There is scarcely any question in theology that has been en- 
cumbered with more injurious and technical mysticism than that 
•f justification* 

Justification is the pronouncing of one just© It may be done 
in words, or* practically, by treatment* Justification must be, 
in some sense, a governmental act; en d it is of importance to a 
right understanding of gospel justification, to inquire whether 
it be an. act of the judicial, the executive, or the legislative 
department of government; that is, -whether gospel justification 
consists in a strictly judicial or forensic proceeding, or 
whether it consists in pardon* or setting aside the execution of 
an incurred penalty, and is therefore properly either an execut- 
ive or a legislative act* We shaLl see that the settling of 
this question is of great importance in theology; and as we view 
this subject, so, if consistent, we must view many important and 
highly practical questions in theology* This leads me to say,-* 

That gospel justification is not io be regarded as a. forensic 
or judicial proceeding. Dr. Chalmers and those of his school 
hold that it is* But this is certainly a great mistake, as we 
shall see* The terra forensic is from f orum, tt a court* 11 A for- 
ensic proceeding belongs to the judicial department of goverar 
ment, iriiose business it is to ascertain the facts and declare* 
the sentence of the law. This department has no power over the 
law, but to pronounce judgment, in accordance with its true 
spirit and meaning* Courts never pardon, or set aside the exe- 
cution of penalties* This does not belong to them, but either 
to the executive or the lawaaking department* Oftentimes, this 
power in human governments is least, a branch of the legislative 
power of government. But never is the power to pardon exeroised 
by the judicial department* The ground of a judicial or forensic 
justification invariab3y is, and must be, universal obedience 
to law* If but one crime or breach of law is alleged and proved* 
the court must inevitably condemn, and can in no such case just- 
ify, or pronounce the convicted just. Gospel justification is 
the justification of sinners; it is, therefore, naturally im- 
possible, and a most palpable contradiction, to affirm that the 
justification of a sinner, or of one who has violated the law, 
is a forensic or judicial justification* That only is or can 
be a legal or forensic justification, that proceeds upon the 
ground of its appearing that the justified person is guiltless, 
or, in other words, that he has not violated the law, that he 



18U THE PILGRIM 



Ms done only what he had a legal right to do* Now it is cer- 
tainly nonsense to affirm* that a sinner can be pronounced 
just in the eye of law; that he can be justified by deeds of 
law, or by the law at all. The law condemns him. But to be 
justified judicially or f orensioally, is to be pronounced just 
in the judgment of law. This certainly is an impossibility in 
respect to sinners. The Bible is as express as possible on 
this point, Romans III, 20,— "therefore by the deeds of the 
law there shall no flesh' be justified in his sights for by 
the law is the knowledge of sin," 

It is proper to say here, that Dr, Chalmers and those of his 
school do not intend that sinners are justified by their own 
obedience to law, but by the perfect and imputed obedience of 
Jesus Christ, They maintain that, by reason of the obedience 
to law which Christ rendered when on earth, being set down to 
the credit of elect sinners, and imputed tp them, the law re- 
gards them as having rendered perfect obediencein him or regards 
them as having perfectly obeyed by proxy, and therefore pro- 
nounces them just, upon condition of faith in Christ. This they 
insist is properly a forensic or judicial justification. But 
this subject will come up more appropriately under another head, 

Hm IflEHAT IS GOSPEL JUSTIFICATION 

It consists not in the law pronouncing the sinner just, but 
in his being ultimately govemmentally treated as if he were 
just; that is, it consists in a governmental decree of pardon 
or amnesty— in arresting and setting aside the executuon of the 
incurred penalty of law— in pardoning and restoring to favor 
those who have sinned, and those whom the law had pronounced 
guilty, and upon whom it had passed the sentence of eternal 
death, and rewarding them as if they had been righteous. In 
proof of this position, I remark,— 

1, That this is most unequivocally taught in the Old Testa- 
ment scriptures. The whole system of sacrifices taught the doc- 
trine of pardon upon the conditions of atonement, repentance, 
and faith. This, under the old dispensation, is constantly 
represented as a merciful acceptance of the penitents, and never 
as a forensic or judicial acquittal or justification of them. 
The mercy-seat covered the law in the ark of the covenant, 

Paul informs us what justification was in the sanae in which 
the Old Testament saints understood it, in Rom IV. 6-8; — "Even 
also as David describeth the blessedness of the man to whom God 
imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they 
whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, 
Blessed is the man to iriiom the Lord will not impute sin." This 
quotation from David shows both what David aid what Paul under- 
stood by justification, to wit, the pardon and acceptance of 
the penitent sinner, 

2. The New Testament fully justifies and establishes this 
view of the subject, as we shall abundantly see under another 
head. 



THE PILGRIM 185 



3* Sinners cannot possibly be just in any other sense* Upon 
certain conditions they may be pardoned and treated as just* 
But for sinners to be forensically pronounced just, is impossible 
and absurd* 

III* CONDITIONS OF JUSTIFICATION. 

In this discussion I use the term condition in the sense of 
a sine qua non, a "not without which« M This is its philoso- 
phical sense* A condition as distinct from a ground of justifi- 
cation, is anything without which sinners cannot be justified, 
which, nevertheless, is not the procuring cause or fundamental 
reason of their justification* As we shall see, there are many 
conditions, while there is but one ground, of the justification 
of sinners* The application and importance of this distinction 
we shall perceive as we proceed* 

As has been already said, there can be no justification in a 
legal or forensic sense, but upon the ground of universal, per- 
fect, and uninterrupted obedience to law* This is of course 
denied by those -who hold that gospel justification, or the justi- 
fication of penitent sinners, is of the nature of a forensic 
or judicial justification* They hold to the legal maxim, that 
what a man does by another he does by himself, and therefore the 
law regards Christ's obedience as ours, on the ground that he 
obeyed for us* To this I reply,— 

1* The legal maxim just repeated does not apply, except in 
cases where one acts in behalf of another by his own appoint- 
ment, which was not the case with the obedience of Christ; and, — 

2* The doctrine of an imputed righteousness, or that Christ's 
obedience to the law was accounted as our obedience, is founded 
on a most false assumption; to \it, that Christ owed no obedience 
to the law in his own person, and that therefore his obedience 
was altogether a work of supererogation, and might be made a 
substitute for our own obedience; that it might be set down to 
our credit, because he did not need to obey for himself* 

I must here remark, that justification respects the moral law; 
and that it must be intended that Christ owed no obedience to 
the moral law, and therefore his obedience to this law, being 
wholly a work of supererogation, is set down to our account as 
the ground of our justification upon condition of faith in him* 
But surely this is an obvious mi stakes We have seen, that the 
spirit of the moral law requires good— will to God and the uni- 
verse* Was Christ under no obligation to do this? Nay, was he 
not rather under infinite obligation to be perfectly benevolent? 
Was it possible for him to be more benevolent than the law re- 
quires God and all beings to be? Did he not owe entire conse- 
cration of heart and life to the highest good of universal being? 
If not, then benevolence in him were no virtue, for it would 
not be a compliance with moral obligation* It was naturally 
impossible for him, and is naturally impossible for any being, 
to perform a work of supererogation; that is, to be more bene— 



186. - THE PILGRIM 



vplent than the moral law requires him to be. This is and must 
he as true of God as it is of any other being. Would not Christ 
have* sinned had he not been perfeotly benevolent? If he would, 
It follows* that he owed obedience to the law, as really as any 
other being* Indeed, a being that owed no obedience to the 
moral law must bo wholly incapable of virtue, for \uhat is virtue 
but obedience to the moral law? 

But if Christ owed personal obedience to the moral law, then 
his obedience could no more than justify himself. It can never 
be, imputed to us* He was bound for himself to love God with 
all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and his neigh-* 
bor as himself. He did no more than this* He could do no more. 
It was naturally impossible, then, for him to obey in our behalf* 

There are , however, valid grounds and valid conditions 
of Justification* 

1. 'Xhe vicarious suffering or atonement of Christ is a con- 
dition, of justification, or of the pardon and acceptance of 
penitent sinners* It has been common either to confound the 
conditions with the ground of justification, or purposely to 
represent the atonement and work of Christ as the ground, as 
distinct from and opposed to a condition of justification. 
In treating this subject, I find it important to distinguish 
between the ground and conditions of justification arid to re- 
gard the atonement and work of Christ not as a ground, but only 
as a condition of gospel justification* By the ground I mean 
the moving, procuring cause; that in which plan of redemption 
originated as its source, and which was the fundamental reason 
or ground of the v/hole movement. This was the benevolence and 
merciful disposition of the whole Godhead, Father, Son, and * 
Holy Spirit. This love made the atonement, but the atonement 
did not beget this love. The Godhead desired to save sinners, 
but could not safely do so without danger to the universe, un- 
less^ something was dene to satisfy public, not retributive 
justice. The atonement was resorted to as a means of recon- 
ciling forgiveness with the wholesome adndni strati on of justice. 
A merciful disposition in the Godhead was the souroe, ground, 
mainspring, of the -whole movement, while the atonement was only 
a condition or means, or that without -which the love of God 
could not safely manifest itself in justifying and saving sin- 
ners. . : 

Failing to make this distinction, and representing the atone- 
ment, as the ground of the 'sinners justification, has been a 
sad occasion of .stumbling to amy. Indeed, the whole questions 
of the nature, design, extent, and bearing of the atonement turn 
upon, and are involved in, this distinction. Some represent the 
atonement as not demanded by, nor as proceeding from the love or 
merciful disposition, but from the inexorable wrath of the Father, 
leaving the impression that Christ was more merciful, and more 
the friend of sinners than the Father. Many have received this 
impression from pulpit and- written representations as I well know. 
Next: Justification Continued 



THE PILGRIM 18? 



^Jtstetcal 



ON THE NUMBERS, DICIPLINE, DOCTRINE, AND 
MORALITY OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH 

From a review of the preceding chapter, we find 
that before the year 200, A.D., the religion of Christ 
had penetrated into most of the provinces of the Roman 
empire, and was very widely diffused in many. By one 
of those dispositions in the scheme of Divine Provi- 
dence, which it is not given us perfectly to compre- 
hend, the people to which the faith was immediately 
addressed, was that which was most reluctant to receive 
it j indeed, its earliest and bitterest enemies, wher- 
ever it presented itself, were Jfewpj but heaven protected 
its weakness, and proved its legitimacy, and avenged 
its sufferings, by executing on its first persector the 
severest chastisement ever inflicted on any nation. 

During the few first years of Christianity, the most 
flourishing Church was, undoubtedly, that of Antiochj 
until, in the wider progress of the Gospel, it was sur- 
passed by the superior populousness of Rome and Alexan- 
dria, 

From Syria to the shores of the Black Sea, through- 
out the rich provinces of Asia Minor, Cilicia, .Phrygia, 
Galatia, Pontus, Bithynia, and along the whole coast . 
of the Aegean Sea, a considerable proportion of the 
inhabitants were Christians, and we find their establish- 
ment in all the leading cities of Greece. From the 
cities, in each instance, the religion was silently 
derived and distributed among the surrounding towns and 
villages and hamlets, purifying morality, and infusing 
hope and happiness; and thus every Church was surrounded 
by a little circle of believers, Tnhich gradually en-* 
larged, according to the zeal and wisdom which animated 
the centre. 

The earliest converts were to be found chiefly among 
the middling and lower classes, thich will account as 
well for their numbers as for their obscurity, and the 
little mention that is made of them by contemporary 



188 ' .... .THE PILGRIM 



writers. 

We shall not enter into any elaborate consideration 
of the various human causes which may have facilitated 
the progress of our religion, nor of the many impedi- 
ments which have been opposed to it. Instances of both 
will frequently present themselves in the course of 
this history, and some of the former in the present 
chapter. It would neither be wise nor consistent to 
deny their existence, or to assert that Providence, 
which condescends to effect its other earthly purposes 
by the agency of man, has wholly neglected such means 
in effecting its' great purpose, the propagation of ' \ 
Christianity. 

A very general facility of intercourse, rendered 
still easier by the diffusion of the Greek language 
through the Eastern provinces, and by the knowledge of 
the Latin, which was universal in the West, prevailed '• 
throughout the Roman Empire; for the conquerors well 
kneW that without great rapidity of communication by 
sea and by land, so vast a compound of discordant 
materials could not long be held together in one mass* 
ftiis was the most beneficial result of their political 
speculations; and hence proceeded their great diligence 
in the formation of roads and the construction of 
bridges. The means which were intended to advance the 
progress of armies, and ; perpetuate the duration of 
slavery, were also converted to the more honorable pur- 
poses of commerce and civilisation; and more than that, 
they were made serviceable to an end which, was least 
of all contemplated by their authors, when they became 
instrumental in the dissemination of Christianity. But 
they speedily becameso; and it was thus that the weak 
were enabled to obtain support from the more powerful, 
the poor from the more wealthy, the ignorant from the 
more enlightened brethren; that the churches in distant 
provinces could maintain an easy and rapid intercourse; 
that the East could send missionaries to the West; 
and the more recent converts hold fearless correspon- 
dence with the establishments of the Apostles. The 
devoted zeal of the primitive missionaries* the pure 
and austere morals of their converts, and the union 



THE PILGRIM 189 



and discipline of the Chruch, are universally admitted. 
By these and similar considerations we are led to be- 
lieve, that, at least throughout the Eastern provinces 
of the empire, in Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece, 
a respectable proportion of the people were Christians, 
even before the end of the second century; and there is 
strong reason for supposing our religion to have been 
already so firmly rooted in those parts, that its extir- 
pation by any domestic persecutor would even then have 
been wholly impossible. This, at least, is our opinion j 
if true, it is an important service to have established 
it from the fair examination of such imperfect records 
as remain to us; for infidel writers are fond of insinu- 
ating that Christianity emanated from the court of 
Constantine, and had nowhere assumed any permanent or 
consistent form until its character was fixed and its 
stability decided by the policy of an emperor. 

Miraculous claims* In order to rest on ground which 
will not be disputed, we have been contented to seek 
our proofs of the early strength and security of Christ- 
ianity in the ordinary records of history, made probable 
by natural circumstances and human operation. But we 
should treat the subject imperfectly if we were to make 
no mention of those higher powers which have been so 
generally claimed for the primitive Church, not merely 
through the intei^position of Divine Providence at such 
moments as seemed fit to His' omniscience, but as a gift 
confided by the Most High to the uncertain discretion 
of his ministers on earth, and placed through a succes- 
sion of ages, at their uncontrolled imposition. The 
chain of historical evidence on which this claim rests 
is continued from the days of St. Irenaeus to those of 
St. Bernard, (and even much later,) with much uniformity 
of confident assertion and glaring improbability; it is 
interwoven in inseparable folds throughout the *iiole 
mass of ecclesiastical records, and the links which 
compose it so strongly resemble each other both in 
material and manufacture, that it appears absolutely 
impossible to break the succession, or to distinguish 
which of the portions were fabricated by the wisdom of 
God, which by the impiety of man. Various writers have 



190 - THE PILGRIM 



assigned various periods to the cessation of supernatu- 
ral aids j but they appear for the most part to have been 
rather guided by their own views of probability, than 
by critical examination of evidence; which would have 
led them equally to receive or equally to reject the 
claims of every age, excepting the first. The powers 
which were undoubtedly communicated by the Apostles 
to some of their immediate successors probably continued 
to enlighten and distinguish those holy persons to the 
end of their ministry, and were eminently serviceable 
in the foundation of the faith; but it is a reasonable 
opinion, that after their departure the possession of 
miraculous aids was no longer vouchsafed to the Church 
as a community, or to any individuals as its ministers. 
All miracles which are related to have taken place after 
that period must be separately subjected to the usual 
tests, and must stand or fall on their own merits, 
according to the degrees of evidence and probability. 
On the other hand, we are far from intending to assert 
that Providence, at the sarrB time, withheld His occasi- 
onal assistance from His faithful and afflicted servants; 
and, perhaps, we may observe generally, that the accou- 
nts of His interposition which we should receive with 
the least suspicion are those *diich describe the super- 
natural support afforded to missionaries in the prose- 
cution of their holy labors.— Wadding ton's Church History 

WATCH THE LITTLE FOXES 
A holy life is made up of a number of small things: 
little words, no eloquent speeches or sermons; little 
deeds, not miracles or battles, nor one great heroic 
act of iftlghty martyrdom, make up the true Christian life. 
The little constant sunbeam, not the lightning; the 
waters of Siloam "That go softly" in the meek mision of 
refreshment, not the "waters of the river, great and 
many," rushing down in noisy torrents, are the true sym- 
bols of a holy life. The avoidance of little evils, 
little sins, little inconsistencies, little weaknesses, 
little follies, indiscretions, and imprudences, little 
foibles, little indulgences of the flesh; the avoidance 
of such little things as these goes far to make up, at 
least, the negative beauty of a holy life.- Selected— 



THE PILGRIM 191 



SAVED BY A HYMH. 

"What a friend we hare in Jesus 1 * 
Sang a mother to her child; 

And a tempted man "who listened 

Strove to check his passions wild. 

All his earnings ; he had squandered 
For the cursed drink called rum, 

Down the street he then had wandered 

: Till he stood before this home* 

"Have you trials and temptations 

Is there trouble any where?" 
Thus the music sweetly floated 

Out upon the evening air. 
And the stranger 3adly standing 

Bit his lips in wild despair, 
"While the mother still kept singing 

'Take it to the Lord in prayer. 1 "" 

As he battled, Satan whispered, 

"Ho one for your soul doth care." 
"Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? 

Take it to the Lord in prayer." 
"Life," tie said, "Is not worth living 

I have naught to keep me here." 
"We should never be discouraged, 

Take it to the Lord in prayer." 

His poor heart so sad and weary, 

For the rest of Jesus yearned » 
By the singing now made ready 

Quickly to the Saviour turned* 
And the happy, happy singer 

Little knew she had a share 
In the glorious hope of bringing 

One who found asolace there* 

Full of hope 2nd peace and gladness, 

He then to his home returned, 
Told them of his faith in Jesus 

Whom till that night he had spurned. 
Now that happy little family 

Has a Christian, father 1 s care; 
Each one at the family altar 

Take it to the Lord in prayer* 

— Selected by a Sister. 



192 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
-EPHESIANS-- 

The letter to the Epheslans was probably written • 
near the end of Paxil's first imprisonment at Rome, 
about 63 A.D # 

There is a great resemblence between the letters 
to the Ephesians and the Coloesians. Out of the hund- 
red and fifty five verses in Ephesians, seventy eight 
contain expressians identical with those in Colossians. 
But the two epistles, although pimilar, are not the 
same. In Colossians the glory of Christ as head of 
the universe and of the church is magnified. In Ephes- 
ians it is the catholicity of the church itself that 
is set forth as the outcome of the doctrine of adopt- 
ion in Christ. In Colossians it is the glory of Christ 
that is emphasized; in Ephesians the work of the Spirit, 
for it is through the Spirit that the presence and 
energy of Christ is continued in the Chflrch. The 
church is the body of Christ; the holy temple of God; 
and the spotless spouse of Christ. As the fulness of 
the Godhead resides in Christ, so the fulness of Christ 
resides in kis church. This ideal church is in the 
process of being realized. The actual church has many 
defects and blemishes. But "the measure of the stat- 
ure of the fulness of Christ " will be reached at last, 
and it is the duty of e&ch individual member to work 
towards this end, especially through the Christian 
family, which is a symbol and likeness of the church. 

The "mystery" of Christ, 3; 3-9, hid for ages in 
God, v. 9, in this passage plainly means that the 
nations are heirs to the promises which God gave to 
the Jews, but which the Jews hitherto had thought be- 
longed to them exclusively. That phase of God's plan 
had been hid, though he had purposed it from the begin- 
ning, 1: £, till the coining of Christ, but now is fully 
revealed: namely: that God*s future world of glory will 
be builded, not out of the Jewish nation, but from all 
mankind. 

Adapted from Bible Encyclopedia and other sources. 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1959 NOS. 9-10 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.* 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



Faith #f our fathers I living still 

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword: 
how our hearts beat high with joy, 
Whene*er we hear that glorious word: 
Faith of our fathers , holy faith I 
We will be true to thee till death. 

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark, 

Were still in heart and conscience free; 
How sweet would be their children's fate, 
If they, like them, could die for theel 
Faith of our fathers, holy faithj 
We will be true to thee till death. 

Faith of our fathers! faith and prayer 
Shall keep our country true to thee; 
And through the truth that comes fron God, 
Our land shall then indeed be free. 
Faith of our fathers, holy faith I 
We will be true to thee till death. 

Faith of our fathers! we xtfill love 

Both friend and foe in all our strife: 
And preach thee, too, as love knows how, 
By kindly deeds and virtuous life. 
Faith of our fathers, holy faith! 
We will be true to thee till death. 

— Frederick William Faber, 18U9. 



19k THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM it a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



PRIVILEGE AND OBLIGATION 

With every privilege and benefit which we enjoy 
there is an obligation, because it has been obtained 
at a great or lesser cost by some one in personal 
service or sacrifice of life or goods. The obligation 
consists in pre serving the value and parsing on to 
others about us v and to our posterity the benefits 
which we have received. To not do so is to deny the 
law of God .'which says, "Love thy neighbor as thyself," 
And, "Bear ye one anothers 1 . burdens, and so fulfil the 
law of Christ* » 

The price of freedom is responsibility* 

It seems evident that all of God's purposes and plans 
for the good of humanity was not yet revealed to Adam 
and Eve when he placed them in the garden of Eden and 
assigned to them their duties * They had capabilities 
which were not yet realized because they had not par- 
taken of the tree of life which was in their midst, and 
of which if they wpre to eat they would live forever. 
They were innocent and perhaps did not fully realize 
their condition and the privilege which they had to 
choose %% 

The tree of KNOTrJLEDGE of good and evil was also in 
the midst of the garden* God knew good and evil and 
he did not hide from them the fact that it existed. 
But he warned them of the consequences, if they should 
eat of it they would. die. Evidently, in their present 
state, they were not qualified to accept the responsi~ 
bility which the., knowledge of. good and evil would im- 
pose upon them,. God did ndt will that they should have 
the knowledge of good and evil because they were not at 
that time sufficient for it. And because they were 
created to live and not die God mercifully warned them, 
"In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 
But Satan said "ye shall not die. For God doth know 



THE PILGRIM 195 



that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall 
be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and 
evil* Here the temptation was clearly an appeal to 
lust for privilege without the ability or regard for 
the responsibility which followed. It was a great 
and blessed privilege to be created in the image of 
God and to be placed in the lovely Paradise of Eden, 
and to have access to the tree of life and live for- 
ever, and to have God for their Father * . Their 
first obligation was to be obedient to him, which was 
altogether for their good and blessed estate; and not 
lust for privilege which did not belong to them and 
they were unable to bear* 

When we know good and evil we are immediately obli- 
gated to choose the good and refuse the evil. To 
ignore this obligation is to commit sin* For, "To him 
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it 
is sinj 1 To choose the good and refuse the evil is 
godly, and it is said of Jesus and his government, 
11 Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity* 11 

Knowledge is power, and power used selfishly or 
for wrong purposes is evil. The highest attainment 
of moral beings is happiness, and every moral being 
is wholly obligated to secure the happiness of all 
other stich beings* 

God made the world and all its fulness with the 
greatest efficiency for the well-being and happiness 
of all holy beings in the universe, as we are told in 
the Bible, "For thy glory they are and were created." 
Such high efficiency and goodness is worthy of all 
praise and honor of the the creature for the Creator. 

The greatest efficiency is of necessity the greatest 
order, and for its preservation all moral beings are 
obligated to maintain and be obedient to that order. 
Because of these blessed benefits and privileges 
bestowed upon us freely by our Creator we are supremely 
obligated to obey his laws which procures and insures 
the well-being and happiness of all other being like 
ourselves— made in the image of God. 

For some reason, not known to us, it was possible 
for some of the heavenly beingd to refuse to harmonise 



196 THE PILGRIM __ 

or keep their * plac e ■ In ' the gr e at order of God in th§ ; 
gbv&ramont ot the universle. And so we are told that. 
Lucifer or Satan rebelled, a$d said in his heart, . 
"1 will exalt riy. throne above the stars of God: i •♦ 
I will,be\ like the most High." Isa. lUil3*,m« Appar- 
ently it was' his. intention to possess that which was 
not his right to have, which he had not created nor 
giveh anything for. He wish to take over the work 
and position of another, He saw only the privilege 
and hoijor of such a position without regard to its 
obligation 'and responsibility,* Often men in the 
dhurch aiid in human societies are guilty of this same 
offence. They desire the honor and privileges that 
in certain ways are due to those who hold offices of 
leadership among the people, but have no regard for 
the obligation that also must accompany it to give un- 
selfishly of themselves for the good of those whom 
they serve. The Lord complained bitterly of the 
pastors and shepherd of his people Israel in olden 
tome for this sore evil, as we may read in the 3Uth 
chapter of Eaekiel ' And there may be many such pastors 
today w ho are satisfied to use the privileges of such 
an office without accepting the obligations that also 
accoiiipany it. ' 

We are using our priviliges without obligation, 
when we use upon ourselves for our own benefit and 
satisfaction all the heritage of wholesome living and 
Christian training which our parents and the church 
has handed do\m tp us, and refuse or. fail to pass it 
on to our children and their posterity. We are obli- 
gated to pass on to those who come after us the same 
rich heritage in thd home and in the church which our 
fathers have given to us. 

We seek privilege with out obligation when we claim 
the blessings of salvation and eternal life which 
Jesus purchased for us with his own blood on calvary 
and refuse to separate ourselves from all known sin. 
and be a living testimony for him among our fellow 
men while here in the xrorld, and for whom he also died. 

The desire, to b& as gods, knowing good and evil, 
resulted in the' fall of our first parents in Eden 



THE PILGRIM 197 



and their expulsion from Paradise. 

At the same time a redeemer was promised who would 
be able to bruise the serpent *s head but he himself 
would also suffer in the conflict. It is also probable 
that the slaying of an innocent victim to provide clothes 
for the guilty pair was atype of the sacrifice which 
would ucmetime be made to save lost sinners. 

: Christ was the promised Redeemer , and because, he 
was one of the Godhead and in complete union ■ 
with the Father and had the same love for fallen man, 
it was deemed expedient and necessary that he should 
make an atonement for sins -by the sacrifice of himself " 
on the erossof Calvary, He accepted this obligation 
willingly, as is shown by his prayer in Gethsemnei 
"Not my will but thine be done." And when Peter would 
defend him with the sword, he commanded him to put up 
the sword again, and said, "Thinkest thou that I cannot 
now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give more 
than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the 
Scriptures be fulfilled?" In Heb. 12:1 we are told 
that for the joy that was set before him he endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right 
hand of the throne of God." 

This is the highest privilege and office in the 
government of God, and Jesus willingly accepted all' of 
the obligations which devolved upon him to make its 
fulfillment and joy complete in obedience to the will 
of the Father* 

During Jesus 1 ministry on earth, Satan tenrpted him' 
in every way possible to induce him to not accept the. 
obligation of obedience to the Father's will in redemp- 
tion, but to exercise his divine right and power to have 
the kingdom and the glory without first offering hijriself 
„as a ransom for sin. 

How wonderfully loving and benef icient was our God 
and Christ the Son to let nothing change the purpose to 
take away our sins and purchase for us a blessed inher- 
itance of eternal life and happiness. This is the great- 
est of all privileges and places upon us the greatest, ■. 
obligation* - 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love 
one another. « — D.F.W. 



198 , THE PILGRIM 



THE -PROCESS OF EVIL 
By J. I. Cover 

How various and devious is the, process of evil con*- 
cieved by the mind of Satan, and fastening its ways 
upon mankind has worked almost from the beginning of 
time unto the present 1 Evil unless checked by the power 
and Holy Spirit of God, grows j but so varied the growth 
so subtle it begins in the heart, that man at times may 
be unconscious of its workings, and the clutching hold 
it soon has upon humankind « We have seen by the work- 
ing and Doctrine of Baptisms, in connection with 
"repentance from dead works" and "of faith towards God," 
that it takes a keen realization, understanding, and 
consecration, to make a stand for the Lord, and to enter 
into covenant with him to be faithful unto death 9 How 
opposite, and varied is "the way of sinners i" Thought- 
lessness, indifference, idleness, and yielding to temp- 
tations can block the will to follow in the teaching 
and direction of Christ, in his word of truth, leading 
on to the condition where Satan can "lead captive to 
his will j " unbelief Is developed, the alluring porspect 
of the pleasures of sin for a season, "tempts man to 
indulge in evil endeavoring to find "pleasure in unright- 
eousness »" The process of evil works in two ways: 
1. On a high plane of virtue, and attainment by our own 
effort, and branches out in so many ways and conditions 
of life; by deception, to hypocracy, to vain philosophy, 
to the pride of life, to a moral life, to faith without 
works, and to love of self. 
2 # On the low plane of all debasing and evil ways. 

This is strictly Satans own offering and contribu- 
tion to humankind, to indulge in all sinful and evil 
desires, to lie, to steal, to kill, to torture, to flat- 
ter, to malign, to distort the truth, to adultery, to 
coveteousness, to sorcery, to abominations, filthy 
communications and blasphemy, and to fearful deeds. 
The process of evil working in the heart of man produces 
"The Old Many which must be "put off," "crucified." Rom. 
6:6, Eph. U;27 # The Old Man has five evil members, Col. 
3:5. OFF WITH THE OLD MAW, ON WITH THE "NEW MAN", Col. 



THE PILGRIM 199 



The process of evil is a cancerous growth that will 
destroy the ,soul unless cured by the Great Physician 
whp, upon request by the ailing patient can say: "Son 
be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." Matt* 9:2. 

Process of evil, devious wayjv 
: Brought by the devil,' here to stay, 
•- Into the wayward sinful heart; 
■•; I ; "" Enter the strayward poisoned dart. 

Demons to enter, sinful man; 

Ungodly center, subtil plan; 

Owning the body, Spirit Soul, 

Utterly shoddy, futle goal. "— 

• Devilish clever, outward charm, 
Process to sever-, causing harm; 
Pathway to sorrow grief and tears, 
Gloomy tomorrow fraught- with fears* 

Upon the mountain, pride* of life, 
Bitter the fountain, fierce the strife; >• 
Hollow the glory, load of care, 
Sordid the story, costly fare. 

Viewing the valley, blackest night; ■ ■ "— 
Sober and 's alley, * carnage fight, 
* ■ -: - Broad the gate yawning downward way; 
Wickedness spawning countless prey. 

Clever decieving, bad for good, 

* Gradually leaving heaven's food; 
: •.: For sinful pleasure, follow on, 

Evilsome leisure, daylight gone. 

. Turn from the evil, enter light; 
Renounce the Devil, gain new sight; 
Jesus can banish every sin; 
Causing to vanish devilkin. 

— Star Route, Sonera, Calif. 

NEXT: The Laying on of Hands No. I 



200 THE PILGRIM 



PEOPLE AND THINGS 

Someone has observed that whereas we ought to love 
people and use things, we are rather inclined to love 
things and use people. What do these phrases mean? 

We love people when we are concerned about their 
interests. We want to see their needs met, their de- 
sires gratified, their joy fulfilled. We want to see 
them happy and successful. We want to see them realize 
their potential of worth-while living to the glory of 
God, We do all we can to help them: tell them what 
they ought to know, give them opportunity and privilege, 
try to keep them from courses that we know will spoil 
their lives and bring them to eternal loss. Love for- 
gets self -advantage in order to promote the interests 
of the loved one. Love reaches out only to be helpful, 
touches only to give delight. Love rejoices in the 
happiness of the loved one, mourns over his sorrows 
and hurts. Love gives unsparingly, and looks not to 
return. Love is not changed by circumstances nor does 
it demand deserving. Love of man, like the love of 
God, is an attitude of grace. 

We use people, when we make them a means to our own 
satisfactions. We think of them as machines which can 
help us to make money. They are our servants and 
burden-bearers. They smooth out the path for us and 
provide us easy repose at the end of the day« We use 
people when we push them down as we climb to the top, 
when we demonstrate our efficiency by pointing out how 
much less efficient someone else is. We use people 
when they are." a number on a list, impersonal statistics 
to prove our point; when we don't care to learn their 
names; when their standard of living, their peace of 
mind and heart is of no concern to us. We use them 
when we counsel them or drive them to actions which 
will be to our own good, not to theirs. We are pretty 
sure to put people to pur use when we considrr them our 
inferiors, when we wonder, why God has made so many of 
them. 

We use things wh^n we make them" means to good ends, 
and not the ends themselves; when we eat to make our 



THE PILGRIM 201 



bodies strong/* wear clothes to keep them warm and 
decently covered, and build houses for shelter j when 
cars are the necessary means of conveyance and money 
buys daily necessities, plus a little for the rainy 
day# We use things when they last us till they are 
worn out,, when disposing of what is left when we pass 
on is a very simple task. We use things when we judge 
other people for what they are, rather than for what 
they have; when what we buy is for use rather than for 
display or social classification. We use things when 
we keep conscious that everything material is only 1 - 
temporary, unworthy of affection or anything approaching 

worship* 

We love things when, we sacrifice people for themj 
when they become pur gods, bending us under their _de~* 
mands. We love things when, as Emerson said, "things 
are in the saddle, and ride mankind* 11 We love things 
when interests of the mind and the spirit, -of the family 
and the church are suffocated under them. We love 
things when we reckon a manjs worth by the size of his 
estate, when we bow to the wealthy and neglect the poor, 
when vie rank people by the houses they live in and the 
cars they drive* We love things when we think people 
will be better as soon as they are better off ; when we 
think missionary work is transplanting our standard of 
living and our cultural advantages. We love things 
when we buy as expensively as our income permits; ' 
when we would rather have the latest gadget than give 
to the Lord our* surplus. 

The Christian is commanded to love the Lord with ' 
heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as 
himself. He is commanded not to love the : world nor the 
things that are in it. Love of things is the enemy 
both of the love of God and the love of man. 

-^Editorial, Aug. h $ 1959, Gospel Herald 

"WHICH HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL." HEB. 6:19 

We do not wait until death to throw our anchor. 
We have through our faith in Jesus Christ thrown the 
anchor of the soul into the eternal shores j we are 
attached to heaven itself . — Selected 



202 __„ THE PILGRIM 



MIRACLES 

Miracles are "supernatural events wrought by the 
power of God in the external world." They are usually 
thought of a special signs or events used by God for 
some special purpose. Miracles are supernatural. They 
cannot be explained in terms of natural law. 

Christianity by its very nature is a supernatural 
religion. Evidences are the incarnation, the Virgin 
Birth, the bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus. 
Since Christianity is supernatural, Christians ■ do not 
consider a scientific explanation of miracles essential. 
Their concept of God and His creation enables them to 
accept the possibility of miracles. 

According to the written record, Jesus performed 
between 35 and k0 miracles during His earthly ministry: 
He raised the dead, stilled the waves, made the dumb 
to speak, caused the lame to walk and the blind to see. 
He used these miracles to introduce Christianity. In 
performing miracles He always used his own power* It 
was possible for Him to do this because He was the Son 
of God. - 

In referring to the miracles which Jesus performed, 
John indicates their purpose. "And many other signs 
did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are 
not written in this book: But these are written, that 
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God; and that believing ye might have life through His 
nam." (John 20:30-31) 

The statement of Hohn indicates that Jesus did not 
use miracles promiscuously. Rather, He used them to 
introduce His ministry In connection with the redemp- 
tive activity of God* This gives the clue to the place 
of miracles in the total Plan of Salvation. THE WEST- 
MINSTER DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE gives an able summary 
of the purpose of miracles in both the Old and New 
Testaments • 

The miracles of the Bible are confined almost exclu- 
sively to k periods, separated from each other by 
centuries. The time of: (l) The redemption of God<s 
people from Egypt ana their establishment in Canaan 



THE PILGRIM 203 



- under. Moses and Joshua. (2) The life~and-£eath 
struggle of the true religion with heathenism under 
Elijah and ELisha. (3) The Exile, when Jehovah 
afforded proof of His power and supremacy over the 
god's; of the heathen, although His people were in 
captivity (Daniel and his companions). (U) The 
introduction of Christianity, when miracles attested 
the person of Christ and Hi3 doctrine. Outeide 
these periods miraclps are rare indeed. 
v The fact that miracles are confined almost exclusiv- 
ely to four periods of time in Biblical history raises 
the question as to whether miracles can occur today. 
This question is significant in view of the fact that 
miracles almost completely died out in the early Church. 

The best answer. is that miracles are definitely a ; ,,; 
possibility today. The relation of God to the external 
world, is the same as it always has been. His power is 
also the same. ( However., the question is Are piracies ■■. 
a necessity today? Is- it necessary to. accredit the 
Gospel through miracles today? Is. additional evidence 
necessary? Has not Christianity been established to 
the extent that man is responsible for' its acceptance 
on the basis of the written record? To demand additi- . 
onal signs may be the result of a lack of confidence in 
divine revelation as -contained in the Bible. Further- 
more, the first and greatest miracle, of all time is the 
"miracle" of the new birth* "The supreme miracle is 
the .forgiveness of sins." Finally, God does sometimes 
perform iidracles through the prayers of His people such 
as healing, the body in. instances where pedical scienpe , 
has given up. In such, cases the primary purpose is 
for the encouragement of His people and for His own 
glory* — Hesston College Monthly. 

REPENTANCE 

"The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now 
commandeth all men everywhere to repent."" 

Athens, the capital of Greece, was a large city. It 
was noted as the chief seat of Grecian learning, re- * 
finement of taste, cultivation of genius, and skill : in 
the production of almost everything belonging to the 



201+ THE PILGRIM 



fine arts* It had its philosophers, statesmen, orators, 
lawyers, priests, poBts arid painters.. It had its high 
and low orders in society. But when Paul beheld the 
city his spirit was moved in him, for he saw that it 
was wholly given to idolatry. Some of the Epicurean 
and Stoic philosophers encountered him and said: "He 
seemeth to be a setterforth of strange gods. 11 They 
said this among themselves, because he preached unto 
them Jesus and the resurrection. But they did not 
seem inclined to do him injury as the Jews had done in 
some other places, but gave him a chance to speak in 
the Areopagus, a large building in the city called the 
Hill of Mars, or Mars 1 Hill. In this building Paul 
preached a wonderful sermon, the whole of which you 
may read in Acts seventeenth chapter. . 

But to-night I wish to speak of just one thing that 
Paul said in that sermon, and these are the words: "God 
commandeth all men everywhere to repent* 11 VJhen we are 
commanded to do something, we like to know what it is 
we are commanded to do ft Now I will tell you. It is 
to repent* But you may say, "I do not exactly know, 
what that means." I will now tell you about all I 
know of the meaning of the words repent and repentance. 
The Lord Jesus knew exactly what these words mean, and 
I will give you his definition. He said to the Jews: 
"The men of Nineveh repented -at the preaching of Jonah." 
Now let us turn to the book of Jonah in the Old Testa- 
ment and see wftat the men of Ninesveh did at the preach- 
ing of Jonah, and "we will then understand what the Lord 
meant when he said they REPENTED* You must know what 
Jonah 1 s sermon was. It was so plain that all could 
understand it, and so short that all could remember it. 
This is the sermon: "let forty days and Nineveh shall 
be destroyed." The city had more than a hundred and 
twenty thousand people in itj and it took Jonah three 
days to go from one end to the other with his message 
of destruction; but at the end of the first day "the 
people of Nineveh believed Godj and when the word came 
unto the king of Nineveh he arose from his throne, and 
laid his robe from him, and put on sackcloth, and sat 
In ashes and said: Let man and beast be covered with 



THE PILGRIM 20£ 



sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yea, let them turn, 
every one from his evil way* And God saw their works, 
that they turned from their evil way* 1f 

Now, notice, when God commands all men everywhere 
to repent, he means for them to do what the Ninevites 
did, but in a more spiritually enlightened way. They 
believed God. This is the first step in repentance, 
as this same apostle says: "He that would come unto 
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder 
of them that diligently seek him." The Ninevites had 
no written word as we have, that gives us intelligent 
knowledge of God as he is revealed in the face of his 
Son Jesus Christ. All they knew of him was from tradi- 
tion, and what they could see of him in his works. But 
they believed God, and gave proof of it by turning from 
their evil way. Now, friends, this is just what God 
commands all men to do. This is what he commands every 
impenitent man and woman in this house to do to-night # 

But some of you may say, "I have no evil way from 
which to turn. I do an honest business; I lead a sober 
life; I am true to my marriage vows, and live a moral 
and orderly life generally. What lack I yet?" Let me 
ask you: Why do you live in this orderly and consistent 
way? Is it because you love the Lord your God with all 
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your 
mind, and with all your strength, and your neighbor as 
yourself? If you can truly say that this love is the 
hand that leads and draws you in your good life, I say, 
Thank God I I have found a brother of whom I am not 
ashamed. But anything short of this love is short of 
what God requires, and you with the rest are called up- 
on to repent. You still have a way that is evil in 
God's sight. That way is the love of self and the love 
of the world. The Pharisees were just as particular 
and careful in regard to their moral or outside life 
as you can ever be; and still the Lord said to his dis- 
ciples: "Except your righteousness exceed the righteous- 
ness of the scribes and pharisees, ye can in no wise 
enter the kingdom of heaven." Their righteousness 
proceeded all from the love of self and the world. 
Their ambition culminated in the honor, respectability, 



206 THE PILGRIM 



credit and wealth such a life procured for them; and 
on this account the Lord Jesus said of them, "Verily, 
they have their reward. 11 

But our Blessed Lord says again: "Except a mari deny 
himself, and take up his cross daily, he cannQt be my 
disciple # » This means repentance. It is commendable . 
in the eye of society of almost every grade to live a 
decent, orderly, virtuous life; but if this sort of 
life be led from any motive short of Uxe love of God, 
what is said of the pharisees must also be said of this; 
"Ye make clean the OUTSIDE of the cup and the platter, 
but the inside is full of hypocrisy and. deceit." Now, 
true repentance makes clean the INSIDE, of tlxe cup and 
the platter, "that the outside may be clean also. . 
—A sermon by Elder John Kline, 181$ 

- BLESSED ARJS THEY THAT DO HIS XOMMAOTMENTS , TH4T TEST? 
ULY mm RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE, MD MAY ENTSR-IN 
* THROUGH THE OftTIS INTO THE CITY, REV. 22s 14 

In the 5th chapter of Matthew, we find what is Qom- 
monly called the beatitudes, where Jesus pronounces 
blessings upon certain conditions and attitudes of the. 
inner man; however, these beatitudes are a part of a 
lengthly discourse called "The sermon on the mount, «■ 

In most, if not all, of the subjects considered in 
this discourse, Jesus always goes to the inner motives 
for. the moral of the actions* but in the end he makes • 
the remarkable statement: "He that heareth these pay- 
ings of mine and BOETH .them. » * n ; 

The. .point of consideration here is that of transform- 
ing, motives into actions or a fai$i that WORKETH BY 
LOVE, The gospel way is to educate the heart first and 
lpcate the motive— first to establish the moral, and 
then to translate it into, outer living* The law, while 
apparently aiming at the same goal, which is holiness-, 
seemed to begin with outward sighs in an effort to 
teach the inward man what was required of him* But the 
hearts of the recipients of the law seemed to attach 
itself to the signs instead of the essence which it 
signified. 
f Jesus himself did ..the great work and made the great 



THE PILGRIM 207 



sacrifice to redeem us, not to relieve us of all obli- 
gation or duties of any kind, but to fulfill a divine 
need and manifest his love to us that we might return 
our love to him and to one another. He made himself 
a brother to us, and said, "I have called you FRIENDS. " 
This is loving companionship. 

The emphasis in the gospel is love. The emphasis 
In the law was obedience. One might say, then, "I 
need not obey." But this would not be the love of .God; 
for, "This is the love of God that we keep his command- 
ments* " The results are intended to be the same, which 
is righteousness and holiness. And so the 8th chapter 
of Romans says, "That the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the law 
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit." 

God*s laws concerning right and wrong have never 
changed. He has only changed his approach to man with 
regard to them, consistent with his greater enlight- 
ment through the gospel* Not until the spirit of the ' 
law can be transformed into acts of love, can It be 
profitable or beneficial to mankind. If we have ideas 
only, then we are only judges of thoughts. 

God's love for humanity was as great after the fall 
and under the Old covenant as It was when he sent Jesus 
into the world, but they could not understand it then. 
If parents can win the affection of their children, 
then they will serve them out of love . —Editor »s notes 

COMMUNION NOTICE 
We the members of the Old Brethren Church, Salida, 
Calif., have agreed, the Lord willing, to hold a com- 
munion meeting October 31 > 1959. A hearty invitation 
is extended to all of like precious faith, especially 
to those who labor in the Word and Doctrine » Services 
to begin at 10 o'clock A.M. —Christie R # Cover 

We hope our readers will bear with us in combining 
the Septemper and October numbers of the Pilgrim, be- 
cause of our contemplated absence from home at the 
time the October number would normally be published. 

-Editor 



ppfr- ■■•■; THE PILGRIM ___ 

JUSTIFICATION 
(continued) 
(Condensed from the lectures of C. G. Finney, 18U8) 
Others, regarding the atonement as the ground as opposed to 
a condition of justification, have held the atonement to be the 
literal payment of the debt of sinners, and of the nature of a 
commercial transaction: a valuable consideration paid down by 
Christ, by suffering the same amount as -was deserved by the 
-whole number of the elect; thus negativing the idea of a merei- 
' ful disposition in the Father, and representing him as demand- 
ing pay for discharging and saving sinners « Some of this class 
have held, that since Christ has died, the elect sinner has a 
right to demand his justification, on the ground of justice, 
that he may present the atonement and work of Christ, and say 
to the Father, "Here is the price; I demand the commodity." This 
class, of course, must hold to the limited nature of the atone- 
ment, or be universalists* 

"While others again, assuming that the atonement was the 
ground of justification in the sense of the literal payment of 
the <iebt of sinners, and that the scriptures represent the 
atonement as made for aH men, have very consistently become 
uni vers all st s • 

Others again have given up, or never held the vieir that the 
atonement was of the nature of the literal payment of a debt, 
and hold that it was a governmental expedient to reconcile the 

• pardon of sin with a wholesome administration of justice* that 
it was sufficient for all as for a part of mankinds that it does 
not entitle those for whom it was made to a pardon on the score 

• of justice, but that men are justified freely by grace through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and yet they inconsis— 

. tently persist in representing the atonement as the ground, and 
not merely as a Condition of justification. 



Those who hold that the atonement and obedience of Christ 
were and are. the ground of the justification of sinners, in the 
sense of the payment of their debt, regard all the grace in the 
transaction as consisting in the atonement and obedience of 
Christ, and exclude grace from the act of justification. Justi- 
fication they regard as. a forencic act. I regard the atone- 
ment of Christ as the necessary condition of safely manifesting 
the benevolence of God in the justification and salvation of 
sinners. A merciful disposition in the whole Godhead was the 
ground, and the atonement a "condition of justification^ Mercy 
would have saved without an atonement, had it been possible to 

do SO. : - ■■'■■". '"..*' 

That .Christ's sufferings, and expecially his death, were 
vicarious, has been abundantly shown in treating the subject of 
atonement* I need hot repeat here what T said there. .Although 
Christ owed perfect obedience to the moral law for himself, and 



THE PIIflRIM 2 o9 



could not therefore obey as our substitute, yet since he perfect- 
ly obeyed, he owed no suffering to the law or to the Divine 
government on his own aocount* He could therefore suffer for 
us* That is, he could, to answer governmental purposes, sub- 
stitute his death for the "infliction of the penalty of the law 
on ua* He could not perform works of supererogation, but he 
could endure sufferings of supererogation, in the sense that he 
did not owe them for himself. The doctrine of substitution, 
in the sense just named, appears everywhere in both Testaments* 
It is the leading *plea, the prominent thought, lying upon the 
face of the whole scriptures* Let the few passages that follow 
serve as specimens of the class that teach this dootrinei 

Lev. 17:2. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I 
have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for 
your souls; for it is the blood that malceth an atonement for 
the soul." 

Isa* -53:5, 6,ll rt "But he was wounded for our transgressions, 
he was bruised for our i31iquit3.es; the chastisement of our peace 
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. AL1 we like 
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own viay, 
and the Lord "hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his 
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall 
bear their iniquities *" 

Matt* 20:18* "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered 
unto, but to minister, and to £ive his life a i^ms era for many*" 

K!att» 26:28. »F or this Is my blood of the New Teatament,,. 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins*" 

John 3:14* 'Vjad as Moses- lifted up the "serpent in the wilder- 
ness, even so must the Son of ; man be lifted up: :15* That whoso- 
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life*" 

John 6;51* "I am the living bread which came down from 
heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; 
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give 
for the life of the world*" 

Acts 20:28. "Take heed, therefore unto yourselves, and to all 
the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, 
to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own 
blood*" 

Rom* 3; 24* "Being, justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus . 25* Whom God hath set forth 
to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his 
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through 
the forbearance of God. 26* To declare, I say at this time his 
righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him 
which believeth in Jesus*" 

Rom. 5; 6 a "For when we were yet without strength, in due time 
Christ died for the ungodly* 7* For scarcely for a righteous 
man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would 
even dare to die* 8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in 
that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us* 9. Being 
now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through 



THE PILGRIM 210 



hinu"ll#- 'tod not only so, but we also joy in God, through our 
LorH Jesus Christ, by t^omwe have now received the atonements 
18* Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment oame upon all 
men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the 
free gift came upon all men unto justification of life* 19* '"'V 
For as; by one man f s disobedience many were made sinners, so by 
the obedience of on,e phall many be made righteous**" 

I Cor» 5:7* "For even Christ our pa^sover is sacrificed for 

us** 1 u'" : : 

• I Cor. 15:3 •. "Christ died for our sins according to the 
scriptures*" 

Gal#3:13* "Christ hath redeemed' us from the curse of the law*, 
being made a curse for us; for it is -written, Cursed is every 
one that hangeth on a, tree* 14, That the blessing .of Abraham 
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that wg might 
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith* " 

Eph» 2:13* "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were 
far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ*" 

Heb* 9*12, Neither by the, blood of goats and calves, but by 
his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having 
obtained eternal redemption for us 13* For if the blood of 
bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the 
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; 14* How 
muoh more shall the bllod of Christ, who through the eternal 
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience 
from dead wor&s to 3erve the living God? 22* -And almost all 
things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding 
of blood is no remission* 23., It was therefore necessary that 
the patterns of things in the heavens should" be purified with 
these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices 

' than theseo 24* For Christ is not entered into the holy places 
made with hands , ' which are the figures of the true: but into 
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25* 
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest 
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 
26* For then must he of ten. have suffered since the foundation 
of the world: but now once in the eix& of the world hath he/ . 
appeared to* put; away sin by the sacrifice of himself* ; 27* \kn& 

^as it is appointed unto men Once to die, but after this the 
judgment; 28* So Christ wa's once offered to bear the sins of 
many a 11 

I Peto 1:13* "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed 
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain 
conversation received by tradition from your fathers: 19* But 
with the precious blood of Christ*" .V 

I Pet. 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body 
on the tree, that we being dead to sinfc| should live unto right- 
eousness; by whose stripes, ye are healed©" 

'I J ohn.lt 7 # "But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship 
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son clean— 
seth us from all sin*" 

I John 4:9* "In this was .manifested the lov£ \qf God toward 
us, because that God sent his 6nly~begotten Son 'Into the world. 



THE PILGRIM 211 



that we might live through him. 10, Herein is love* not that we 
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro« 
pitiation for our sins." 

These and. many such like passages establish the fact beyond 
question, that the vicarious atonement of Christ is a condition 
of our pardon and acceptance with God. 

2. Repentance is also a condition of our justif ioation# 
Observe, I here also use the term condition, in the sense of a - 
"NOT WITHOUT TOUCH," and not in the sense of a "THAT FOR THE 
SAKE OF WHICH" the sinner is justified. , It must be certain that 
the government of God cannot pardon sin '"without repentance. This 
is as truly a doctrine of natural as of revealed religion* Tt 
is self— evident that, until the sinner breaks off from sins by 
repentance or turning to God, he cannot be justified in any 
sense. This is everywhere assumed, implied, and taught in the 
Bible. No reader of the Bible can call this in question, and it 
were a useless occupation of time to quote more passages. 

3. Faith in Christ is, in the same sense, another condition 
of justification© We have already examined into the nature and 
necessity of faith. I fear that there has been much of error in 
the conceptions of many upon this subject. They have talked of 
justification by faith, as if they supposed that, by an arbitrary 
appointment of God, faith was the condition, and the only con- 
dition of justification. This seems to be the antinomian view. 
The class of persons alluded to speak of justification by faith; 
as if it were by faith, and not by Christ through faith, that 
the penitent sinner is justified; as if garth, and not Christ, 
were our justification. They seem to regard faith not as a 
natural, but merely as a mystical condition of justification, as 
bringing us into a covenant and mystical relation to Christ, in 
consequence of which his righteousness or personal obedience is 
imputed to us. It should never be forgotten that the faith that 
is the condition of justification, is the faith that works by 
love. It is the faith through and by which Christ sanctifies the 
soul. A sanctifying faith unites the believer to Christ as his 
justification; but be it always remembered, that no faith receives 
Christ as a justification, that doe3 not receive him as a sancti- 
fi cation, to reign within the heart. We have seen that repentance, 
as well as faith, is a condition of justification* We shall see 
that perseverance in obedience to the end of life is also a con- 
dition of justification* Faith is often spoken of in scripture 
as if it were the sole condition of salvation, because, as we 
have seen, from its very nature it implies repentance and every 
virtue.— To be continued, 

WHICH CHRIST? 
A very learned man once said to a little child who believed 
in the Lord Jesus, "My poor little girl, you donH know whom you belie 
you believe in. There have been many ohrists. In which of them do 
do you b eli eve ? " 

"I know which one I believe," replied the child. "I believe 
in the Christ that rose from the dead ."^ Selected 



212 THE PILGRIM 



Pbtonral 



. GOVERNMENT IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH 

We must now proceed to examine the dicipline and 
government of the primitive Church, and, in this in- 
quiry, we shall discover no marks of a loose and pass- 
ing superstition, but, , on the contrary, the surest pro- 
gnostics of vigor and immortality* There are many 
reasons which make it necessary, in the treatment of 
this subject, to distinguish clearly between what is 
historically known and what is -plausibly- conjectured $ 
for it is from the confusion of facts with probabilities 
that most of the difficulties of this qtiestion have 
arisen. In the first place it is certain, that, from 
the moment in which the early Churches attained a defi- 
nite shape and consistency, and assumed a permanent 
form of discipline; as soon as. the death of the last 
of the Apostles had deprived them of the more immediate 
guidance of the Holy Spirit, and left them, under God! 3 
especial care and providenoe, to the uninspired direct- 
ion of mere men; so soon had every Church, respecting 
whdtfch we possess any distinct information, adopted the 
Episcopal form of government. The probable nature of 
that government we shall describe presently; but here 
it is sufficient to mention the undisputed fact, that 
the religious comiriunities of the Christian, world 
universally admitted the superintendence of ministers, 
'called bishops, before the conclusion of the first 
century* In, thq next place it is equally true, that 
neither our Saviour nor his Apostles have left any 
express and positive ordinances for the administration 
of the Church; ( Editor's note: This statement should be 
carefully examined in the light of Acts lU: 23; I Cor. 
U:17i" Titus li4:23> Heb # 13:17 <>) desiring, perhaps, that 
that which was intended for every age and condition of 
, man, to be the associate and guardian of every form of 
*: civil government, should have the means of - accommoda- 
ting its external $nd earthly shape to the various 
modifications of human polity. It is also true that : 



TOE PTTrtPTM 213 



In the earliest government of the first Christian 
society, that of Jerusalem, not .the eld.ers only, but. 
the 1 whole Church 1 were associated with the Apostles.: 
and it is even certain that the terms bishop and elder 
or presbyter were, in the first instance, and for a. \ 
short period, sometimes used synonymously, and jLndisw 
criminately applied to the same order in the ministry. 
From the comparison of these facts it seems natural to 
draw the following conclusions,— that during the life- 
time of the apostles they were themselves the directors, 
or at least the presidents of the Church; that, ^ls long 
as they remained on earth, it was not necessary, in all 
cases, to subject the infant societies to the delegated 
authority of a single superintendent, though the instan- 
ces of Titus and Timothy clearly prove that it was 
sometimes done; and that^ as they were severally removed 
from the world, some distinguished brother was in each 
instance appointed to succeed, not indeed to the name 
.and inspiration^ but to the ecclesiastical duties of 
the blessed Teacher who had f ounded the Church* The 
concurrence of ancient records confirms this last con- 
clusion; the earliest Church historians enumerate the 
first bishops of the Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, 
Ephesus, Smyrna, Alexandria and Rome, and trace them in 
each case from the Apostles* And thus it came to pass 
that, for more than twenty years before the death of 
St. John, most of the considerable Churches had gradually 
fallen under the presidency of a single person entitled 
Bishop; and that, after that event, there were certain- 
ly none which did not speedily follow the same name 
and systrm of administration* 

PROPHETS, Again, for the first thirty years, perhaps 
somewhat longer, after the ascension of Christ, the 
labors of the apostles were aided by certain ministers 
entitled Prophets, who were gifted with occasional 
inspiration, and taught under the influence of the Holy 
Spirit. This order of teachers was withdrawn from the 
Church when their office became no longer necessary for 
its advancement, and it appears wholly to have ceased 
before the end of the century, at which period, as we 
have already observed, ecclesiastical government univer- 



21k THE PILGRIM 



sally assumed that durable shape -which has been per- 
petuated, and, with certain variations, generally 
adopted through every age of Christianity. 

DEACONS. We have yet made no mention of the deacons, 
who were the third order in the Episcopal ChurGh. The 
word deacon means minister, and in that sense is some- 
times applied to the office of the Apostles; but in a 
general sense only, since we are assured (Acts k) that 
the diaconal order was distinct, and instituted for a 
specific purpose d However it seems certain that, in 
the very beginning, the office of the deacons was not 
confined to the mere ministry of the table, since we 
read that Stephen disputed publicly on the Christian 
truth with irresistible wisdom and spirit; and, more- 
over that 'he did great wonders and miracles among 
the people. ' It is equally clear that attendance on 
the poor was for several centuries attached to it; 
even after the office of treasurer was held by the 
bishop, the portion destined to charitable relief con- 
tinued to pass through the hands of the deacon. It is 
not so easy to ascertain the extent of their spirit- 
ual duties in the earliest Church. Ignatius speaks of 
them with high respect, and, in one place, calls them 
■ministers of the mysteries of Christ, 1 Tertullian 
distinguishes them from the laity, together with bishops 
and presbyters. Cyprian asserts that the Apostles 
appointed them as 'ministers of their episcopacy and 
Church. 1 By the Nicene Council they are designated as 
servants of the bishop. It is certain that they were 
ordained by the bishop alone, without any imposition 
of hands by presbyters; that in some Churches they were 
admitted to read the gospel, and that they universally 
assisted in the distribution of the Eucharist, without 
any share in its consecration. Their early acknow- 
ledgment as members of the ministry is proved by 
their occasional presence in the original synods of 
the clergy.— Waddington's Church History. 

Don't grumble, don't bluster, don't dream, don't 

shirk; 
Don't think of your worries, but think of your work. 



THE -PILGRIM ; 2X5 



GIVE THEM THE FLOWERS NOW 

Closed eyes can*t see the white roses, 

Cold hands can't hold them you know, 
Breath that is stilled cannot gather 

The odors that sweet from them blow # 
Death, with a peace beyond dreaming, 

Its children of earth doth endow; 
Life is the time we can help them, 

So give them the flowers nowl 

Here are the struggles and strivings, 

Here are the cares. and the tears j 
Now is the time to be smoothing 

The frowns and furrows and fears," 7 '•' 
What to closed eyes are kind sayings? 

What to hushed heart is deep vow? 
Naught can avail after parting,* 

So give them the flowers nowj 

Just a kind word or a greeting; 

Just a warm gr asp -or a smile— 
These are the .flowers that will lighten 

The burden for many a mile* 
After the journey is over - "* - 

What is the use of them; how 
Can , they carry them who must be carried? 

Oh, give them the flowers now] - 

Blooms from the happy hearts r garden 

Plucked in the spirit of love; 
Blooms that are earthly reflections 

Of flowers that blossom above. 
Words cannot tell what a measure 

Of blessing such gifts will allow 
To dwell in the lives of many, 

So give them the flowers nowj 

-Selected by Sylvia M. Wolf 



216 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE. STUDY 
— PHILIPPIANS- 

The apostle Paul •wrote the letter to the Fhilipp- 
ians about the same time as the one to the Ephesians, 
which was about 62 or 63 A.D. It was written while 
he was in prison at Rome. It is largely an acknowl- 
edgment of thanks for the goodness of the people to 
him. He expresses gladness for this remembrance and 
loyalty to Christ and the gospel. 

In the second chapter the main thought seems to 
be an exhortation to humility through Christ f s examp- 
le; how Christ being in the form of God, thought it 
not robbery to be equal \ri.th God, but being found in 
fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obed- 
ient, even to the death of the cross. 

Paul says in the third chapter, "Be ware of evil 
workers* For we are the circumcision, which worship 
God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus and 
have no confidence in the flesh. 11 He shows that 
Christ is the source and center of all the gladness 
of his life and of all his bright hop3S for the life 
to come. 

His constant prayers with confidence are expressed 
throughout the epistle. Ee puts love in the first 
place but want their love to be separated, and prays 
that they may be so free from doubtful motives that 
they may be ready for the day of Christ. Ee desires 
their conduct to be in harmony with the gospel they 
profess and pleads for an active influence on the 
world around them. He also says in 4: 6,7, "Be care- 
ful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and 
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
made known unto God. And the peace of God,, which 
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts 
and minds through Jesus Christ. 

James Graybill 
Goshen, Indiana 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6. NOVEMBER, 1959 NO, 11 

w Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2: 1 1 



THE THINGS UNSEEN 

If in this world I have no place 

That I can call my own, , 
I would not change my lot with kings, 

For palace or for throne* 

If in this world I have no friend 

I claim a friend above, 
Whose kindness never, never dies. 

And never fails his love* 

If in this world I have no name 

Among the proud and great 
I 1 11 read it in the book of life 

If I but watch and wait* 

If in this world of sin and death 

I oft my lot deplore, 
The Lord has said the day will come 

When I shall weep no more. 

So let the waves of trouble roll 
And cares be drear and dark, 

I know in Jordon*s stormy flood 
I'm. safe within the ark. 

In heaven 1 gate before me, lies 

A land divine and fair; 
And all 1 want forevermore 

Is waiting for me there. 
— Selected 



218 THE PILGRIM 



THE PILGRIM is a religious magazine published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf in the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THANKSGIVING 
By KLmer Brovont 

"By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacri- 
fice of praise to God continually, that is, the 
fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." 

Heb. 13:15* 
"Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: . . . 
so will we rendetfvthe calves of our lips, Kos. lU:2. 

"Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows to 
the most High*" Psalm 5>0siu 

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and 
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ*" 

Eph. 5:20, 

These few Scriptures, along with others, give us 
some realization of our responsibility of being thank- 
ful to our God, who has been our Creator, and in whom 
we live and have our being. 

The faithful men of old have realized and expressed 
their appreciation- in giving thanks to God for his 
mercy, for his loving kindness, and his blessings which 
they had received from his hand. And that He desires 
it from a willing heart is evident. Iiviticus 22: 29 
says, "And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanks- 
giving unto the 'Lord, offer It at your own will." 

I feel sure that true and genuine thanksgiving can 
only come from true and genuine appreciation. To say 
"Thank you" to some one for something that we do not 
care for is only a mere forta of words. So true thanks- 
giving must come from the depths of our hearts, and 
from the realization of a deep need which our God has 
graciously and lovingly supplied. 

Surely, if we can realize our condition without the 
intervention of G od on our behalf, .and what Paul meant 
in writing to the Ephesians, chapter 2:11, our hearts 



THE PILGRIM 21£- 



should bp filled with appreciation to our God, that 
yQUld pv$rflow in thankgiving to his holy name. Jesus 
ha^/aaid, !^9m : the abundance of the heart, the mouth 
speak£th # u V;* .!■•;.-.->:, *- -• ^.v,J\'.. V .*;*'~,-V^ 

There c an be, little ■-. doubt , of the . § inceri ty of, , the. , ! 
one leper that tinned !&§£& to Jesus, . w jand fell clow, "\ 
on , bi# .face at his : f eetj giving him thanks • * f But hoW^ 
About. the v nine?; Perhaps ; they thought the Lord owed I-' f 
it :to: them, vl hope we m&y -r&pXXz^ that ( toe : /^o^^ , v "" 
doesn't owe us anything; but the dmt ik*"can±)ml r ig£^T* 
it was beyond pur ability to pay* ; 3<> J^&V&pTt Jtti^foa 
into the world to pay the ransom; the part we could 
never pay. * Not because he owed it to us as if we were 
worthy, but because he loved us. So may We never be 
found in the clasps with the ninel. ;i_. : . iT 

The apostle Paul, speakes of some Wiat when tfre# 
knew God, they glorififed, him not a:s God, neither were 
thankful; but became vain ijx .their imaginations and 
their foolish heart was darkened (Rom. 1:21) —certain- 
ly not a eoridition that any true child of God would 
desire to fall into. , 

Again we have record of one Who <iixi- give thanks . 
(Luke 18:11), but we feel sure he did not have a true. 
sense of values- did net realize his own condition^ *. 
therefore notr giving thanks for something he had re- - 
ceived from God. "Fo^'God is not the- author of self- ■ 
righteousness in the hearts of men,* but rather it comes 
from the- opposing power, whom Paul says, is transform- 
ed into an angel of light. :/ i : J -:;. " : it 

In our business associations here ixi life we usually 
say "Thank you 11 to anyone who has discharged an obliga- 
tion to us; but through it all there 'is a feeling of 
an exchange of what is sometimes /called "yalue received." 
But it can never be sa in our relatibship to our God* 
"When we are thankful to him it can never be with a 
feeling of exchange of 'Value received," We are the 
recipients, he the giver.'* 

Now in no sense -is this intended to convey the idea 
that the fruit of our lips is &11 the obligation we 
owe to our God. Far from it. But > it is- a part of it; 
a means whereby we may express our appreciation of his 



220 THE PILGRIM 



wonderful works to the children of men. And it is a 
part that we may engage in without cost to us. 

Neither can it be considered only as a once a year 
service, but, quoting again from Heb. 13:15, "Let us 
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually . " 
But again let me emphasize, to be of any value it 
must dome f**om a sincere appreciation of the love of ?.- 
God to us, dnd be gendered by the inmost feelings of. 
the heatft, in response to that matchless grace of God,. 
by ^hich" we are enabled to become true sons and daugh^ 
ters of His. 

"Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." 

~~Rossville, Indiana : " : 

HERE IS THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS, HERE ARE THEY 
THAT KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND THE FAITH 
OF JESUS. Rev. 1U:I2 

By David A. Skiles 

While John was in the Spirit on the Lord f s day, he 
heard a great voice as of a trumpet saying to him," 
"Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things 
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. 1 *.; 
Thus John was inspired with a preview of what we have 
recorded in the above refered to chapter. It would 
seem the words "here" in this scripture would indicate 
"location"; and while it is true that the above scrip- 
tural qualities are ever and at all times essential in 
the Christian life, it would seem in this case, though 
the words ri here" are not specifically defined,* they. 
give rise to the question where? and when?, and are 
the intent of these words. This view is taken because 
these words are use mediately following verses nine,. 
ten and eleven, wherein he explicitly tells of the 
awful cJoom and fate of the ones who worship the beast, 
his image, or receive his mark in their forehead or 
hand j who also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of 
God, and tormented with fire and brimstone forever and 
ever, because they have yielded to the delusive and 
forceful power of the Beast. 



THE PILGRIM 221 



The very; prevalent and popular doctrine that the 
churph or faints will be called up to meet the Lord in 
the .air prior to the beginning of the tribulation tim$, 
seems to loose its foundation for the reason that in . 
verse 7 of chapter 13 it is plainly stated that those 
with whom the Beast will make war are the "saints 1 '; 
as also over all kindreds, and tongues,- and nations* 
And we conclude from the words of verse 8 of the same 
chapter that all will yield to his beastly power except 
those who have their names in the Lamb's book of life » 
po in this conflict there will be "Saints" who- will 
not worship the Beast t And here we see -the answer to. 
the question of whqre; or in the.Reyelator's words, 
"Here is the patience of the saints t here. are theythat 
keep the commandments of God, apd tfeflu faith of Jesus^V 
That die in the Lord, that they may. rest. from -their 
labors j and their works do follow them* 

Yes in these trying and perilous times there will 
be "Saints" who keep the commandments of God, and who 
will not worship the Beast; but will choose rather the 
martyr ! s death j looking for the unspeakable : glory that 
follows, in the holy presence of God, rath^. than_ for 
a very short time escape the terrors "and y^gesmce .of* 
toe Beast and his doom, suffering, the " vengeance of " '. 
eternal fire, Jude 7. 

So be that time near, or not so near, .there are two ; 
alternatives for each one; To have our name;*, and keep 
them, An the Lamb* s Book of Life,' lceeping the command- 
ments of God, or, fkll down to the power of the Beast 
and our destiny be like unto, his, in the winepress of 
the wrath of God, where the blood wiH run to the horse 
bridles. Or conversely suffer with Christ to reign 
with him in his visible presence for one 1 thousand 
years, and on throughout endless etemity # "Which 
would we ofiooseV 

As we look at' verses 6 and 7 of this lUth chapter 
of Rev # , we see a most thorough and unadulterated 
•accomplishment of missionary work, when the angel will 
fly in the midst of heaven, preaching the everlasting 
gospel. . # to every nation, kindred, tongue, and * 
people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give 



222 THE PILGRIM 



glory to himj for the hour of his judgment is come ; 
and worship him that made heaven, anel earth, and the 
sea, and the fountains of waters * Then in the latter 
part of this chapter we see the great two-fold harvest 
of the earth, when the first sickle will be thrust ±n y 
and the harvest (the elect from the four winds) will 
be reaped, and the second sickle will gather that 
which will find itself in the wine press of the wrath 
of God. 

One concluding fact is this, those who pass through 
the ordeal of the Beast tribulation time, victoriously, 
will do it alone through the sustaining grace of Him 
who has said, "I will never leave "thea, nor, forsake 
thee . " — Rossville , Indiana 

THE UYING ON OF HANDS 

NO. 1 ' : 

J. I. COVER 

The laying on of hands is the expression of kindness, 
blessing., and healing. It is used in assisting to re- 
ceive the Holy :Ghost, and conferring pox^er to represent 
him in the great work of spreading the Word of God, 
giving to others what has been received of God, as 
Jesus says, "Ereely ye have received; freely give" all 
in proper place and order. 1* Kindness, blessing, 
and healing j Every act of kindness and aid to others, 
all Christians should be engaged in, and is a means of 
bearing fniit to the glory of God. As Jesus says, 
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these n$r brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. 25:1*0. 
And so we read, "As we have therefore opportunity, let 
us do good unto all men^ especially unto them who are 
of the household of faith." Gal. 6; 10, Jesus blessed 
the little children, freeing them from the curse of 
evil inheritance, by laying his hands upon them and 
saying, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not 
to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven*" 
Matt.- 19: lii,l£. Jesus laid his hands upon every one 
of them and healed them. Luke ii: 1*0. He committed this 



THE PILGRIM 223 



power, to his /apostles and others; "Th6y shall lay hands 
upon* ther sick ^and they shall hoover;" Mark 16: -18. 
They anointed many with oil thai" were sick* Mark 6:13. 
So today we lay hands upon the sick in connection with a 
anointing them with oil in 'the "name of the Lord; James 

5r 1W " ; : ;:; ... " /" '. ".'. : '■ ? " 

2. She laying on of hands of, the apostles, #nd breth- 
ren is the means of working in %he name of Jesus to 
bring the* gift of the Holy Ghost tp .penitant v sinners; 
so proper to perform at the time of baptism, ylhose 
who had been baptised without knowing^ of tjfe "Mly Ghost 
wore r ©baptised , ,.?And when Paul* h$d laid his hands up- 
on them, the. Holy Ghost came upon them." Acts;" u 19: 6. 
Peter and John went to Samaria, "Then laid they their 
hands .'.upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost*" 
Acts. 8:7# *' "" " / ", - •-• 

3. Jesus ordained the twelve. apostles very likely 
-by the laying -on q£ .his hpnds. He left the example 

"that we should follow his steps," I Peter 2:21* The 
presbytery practiced the laying bn of hands I Tim. ktllu 
So it is practiced by; the brethren today in the anoint- 
ing of the eldership # : We can all be. engaged in helping 
others to comfort and blessing. '" This laying on of hands 
is hallowed by the Lord's direction in a general way of 
blessing; to receive the Holy Spirit; and to being 
qualified for special work by God's direction. 

, Jesus laid his hands on the little onea f 
Jesus 1 blessing stands on his many sons;. 
Holy hands were laid on the lame and blind; 
Fearful hearts were stayed, peace and comfort 
- <-'. > ' ,fipd # 

Dead to life were raised mourner's tears were 
, dried; 
> God in heaven praised, sinners hearts were 
tried. 
Glory to the Lord peace and joy on earth; 
God has sent his word at our Saviour's birth* 



22U' ■ THE PILGRIM 



Laying -on of hands Holy Ghost comes in; 
Hoppy angel bands over Satan win; 
Standing for the right in his mighty power, 
Walking in the light kept from hour to .hour* 

Laying on of hands for the work of grace; 
Go to many lands pointing to our place, 
As each victory done standing test by test, 
..Till the crown is won toil and trial best. 

Laying on of hands work may soon be done; 
And the golden sands of the setting sun; 
Paradise of rest when our work is o'e^r, 
Dwell with all the blest on the shining shore. 

Sonora, California 

. - —Next: THE LAYING ON OF HANDS. NO. 2. 

■ STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS 

All the children of* Zion — • all who have ever travel- 
to the Canaan on high, have Acknowledged that they were 
strangers and pilgrims in this wilderness world. Of 
those ancient worthies who died in faith,— in the 
bright hope of a blessed immortality beyond the grave, 
and who are held up in the precious volume of inspir ac- 
tion, for our imitation in the Christian life— it is 
said, they rt confessed that they were strangers and 
pilgrims on the eafrth." To this land ol shadows and of 
death, their views were not confined. No. They looked 
higher than earth. They desired a better country, that 
is, a heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be cal- 
led their God; for He hath prepared for them a city. 
Of Abraham, it is said 'that he sojourned fn the land 
of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in taber- 
.nacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the 
same promise; for he looked for a city vhich hath foun- 
dations, vhose builder and maker is God. The earthly 
Canaan was but a type of the heavenly; and therefore 
the patriarchs, overlooking the passing scenes of a 
sublunary world, elevated their views to the true land 
of promise beyond the skies. —Selected, 



THE PIHHOM 22g 



'.'.! : * ... STA3^ ^ 

Staying hero is good, and all Christians should be : 
willing to stay as - long as it l&^dodt's *wi&fcu -^Arid^n -u-j&o 
indeed, there are but few Christians who are not will- 
ing to stay, tthich is prcoved by the^^wh^n^they send 
for doctors to endeavor to 'prolong tyieir lives , 

Whe God (Jails a Christian home he gives *him or her 
dying grace, and 'the balance of the journey is thus 
made easy* -?.. . ;.•*•,. *. ...;..,-.-. ^ -. . > i^^; <;.'t.\j .**' 

Life is sweet,, and it is lour duty ^^9iinj^;to^i J&a< 
long as ^possible. The separation feoxiv those we loved .... 
is harcl to bear. , ]-. v . r V . ... vv ; l "^. l ][' l -•■' { ■/ *- *■?"• 

When life ceases to be desireable 'itis generally;,,, , s 
by those who have -suffered -so. much from.^sickness that 
all hope has f^own .from ths&p heart*-, No -healthy person 
should desire /td die';- 'for .beyond the grave mo thing can 
be done for those lef-fe ..behind*-;-. Whatever you would do 
for Jesus in this world must be done here. No crowns 
of glory can be won in the world to come. It is ->he**e 
that we must -win all* the medals that wiH d^dorate us^- 
in glory* • '" - - - ■ '•'"'*■■- '-^- " */:■>";>< - • 

God has -made such a beautiful world foi* us to reside 
in, with flowers to greet our eyes and innumerable 
choirs of songbirds to gratify our- ears, that-. ve should 
be glad to stay hefre and enjoy them,; He>lights up the 
day with the brilliant 5 -sun and ^the^inight : with the 
silvery light of *ihe irloon, and it should be ;cmr delight 
to stay. with "the folk" and enjoy all the blessings 
that are showered upon us* * "'I \' ';'" ' 

Don f t ; be^ telling others that you want to die, for 
such an expression is wrong* If y6u are real good you 
will leave the, day ..'of your departure hence to God # who 
doe th all things well. .. ];. .*"'. " ', , .'""".,."." 

,. ' When r I hear, that 'a young soldier of the c^oss'has 
passed away 'if eel sorry, and when I learn 'that" an old 
soldier "of the cross has gone home I rejoice; for 'it 
is to* be supposed that he has done all that he could 
do and 'has gone home to receive his reward* There are 
certain duties that wei have to perform if we care to 
accomplish the purpose for which we were born, and we 



226 THE PILGRIM 



should not be anxious to shake them off and put them 
upon the shoulders of others. Be staisfied to stay- 
here and be one of the burden bearers for others who 
cannot lift their portion of the load. 

Must Jesus bear the cross alone, 

And all the world go free? 
No, there f s a cross for every one, 

And there l s a cross for me. 

It takes courage to live, especiall to those who 
want to live right. Life is the harvest time of those 
anxieus to reap spiritually what they have sown. 

Heaven is made joyous by the sheep garnered in this 
world. 

How happy- are the saints above, 
Who once went sorrowing here! 
But now they taste unmingled love 
And joy without a, tear. 

Life is the time to serve the Lord and your fellow- 
men; and after death will come your reward. Be always 
up and doing, gleaning well every day. To the live 
reaper the words of the poet are applicable when he 
wrote* 

So come with your sickles, ye sons of men, 

And gather together the golden grain 
Toil on till the Lord of the harvest comes s 
Then share ye His joy in the harvest home. 

Live as long as you can and postpone our visit to 
the angels, for you can do them no good, they being 
safe within the fold. There are many of your own 
lambs down h e re who may need your tender care and 
help. Be humble and keep sweet until you hear the 
Master* 8 call to rest from your labors, and then wait 
patiently for the time when you can say "Good morning" 
to those you have loved and worked so faithfully for. 
~~A selected article in Oct, 1911 Vindicator. 

Itfherewithai shall a young man cleanse his way? 
By taking heed thereto according to thy word. 



THE PILGRIM 227 



THE DOCTRINE- OF IMPUTATION 

The old-line teaching of Importation is still being 
advanced, by. certain groupSa. r The-effect of. this teach- 
ing, is being promoted i^na old order ^churches in various 
.w # ays, as evidenced by expresvsiona' 'like: ..'Itkie Qlpak of 
righteousness, M "Christian libe^"£y,J! ;!^en\Gqd^Ippks 
at us He sees the robe of Christ V riglti^qus^e^Sj 5 ' 1 -, 
n when^ Christ went to the cross He bore t^'bw-dep, of ' 
our sins'*. _,.-. ■■■"". ,, *«.-" \**^'- ^] : 

■ : : ■ THE JDOQTRINE ./!■ - ; " * '* . *.']'!, 

Now the word IMPUTE is of latin oidgin ' and hair com& 
to mean in Calvinistic writings, TRANSFER. That is, ; ' 
Adam's sin and guilt are trans f erred to each human * 
being because, they say, he was head of the race,* The 
sin and guilt of each elect person are Said to -be- trans- 
ferred to Christ, Christ 1 a 'obedience and righteousness 
are transferred to each elect person. !ftius the believe 
er is saved and' safe from* eternity -past through the 
*"&ct of God f s ^ee grace, » it is claimed. All this can 
end in a single "'PASSIVITY in salvation and life» For 
what purpose are all "the Scriptural injunctions to faith 
and "holy , living if imputation means transfer or exchange? 

It is ttfue the effects 'of Adam's 3in are a part of 
human heritage, which effects are the bent to sin, cor- 
ruption, curse $ etc. In one sense, man does not need 
to be taught to sin. His natural impulse to "indulge 
selfish desires are an inducement and temptation,- His 
dondemnation is not because of Adam's sin J and guilt /took 
because of his own (Rbirw 3:23; 5:12), So also in his 
pardon. Me . %s righteous not because ; q£ the transfer of 
his sins to Christ and Christ *$ righteousness to j&foy. 
but because of his faith in "the atojiem^nt .of jChrist ' ' 
which effects forgiveness of his sins^ ,;/ s [^ /■' 

- ■ •■' ;■" : THE WORD IMPUTE >'' : "y 

The Old Testament Hebrew word used in the case of 
Abraham in Genesis 15:6 is CHASHAB, translated there 
COUNTED, In I Samuel 22:15 and context occurs the ^ac- 
count of Saul's accusation of the priests when they 



228 THE PILGRIM 



assisted David in his escape f Ahimelech claimed ignor- 
ance of Davids intent and pled Saul not to iinpute 
conspiracy to him. At the time of Absolom f s revolt, 
David and the people fled Jerusalem over the brook 
Kidron (II Samuel l£:23). As they traveled toward the 
wilderness Shemei, a man "of the household of Saul . . . 
came forth and cursed still as he came" (II Samuel 16*5). 
He threw stones at David and his company, cast dust in 
the air j and shouted abusive words at the King. After 
the battle, when David was returning to Jerusalem, this 
same shemex came out and said, "Let not ray lord impute 
inquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which 
thy servant did perversely the day my lord the king 
went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to 
his heart" (IlSamuel 19:19) . From these .Old Testament 
examples it is clear that the meaning of the Hebrew 
CHASHAB is account, reckon, consider,. There is no 
thought of transfer. Rather what the person did was 
to be the basis of accounting, Ahimelech did help 
David, but did not want Saul to consider it conspiracy* 
Shemei.did perversely, but did not want David to take 
account of it, to lay it to heart. 

The New Testament word LOGIZOMAI is used with much 
the same meaning in Romans 6:11. "Likewise, reckon 
(account or consider) ye yourselves to be dead indeed 
unto sin." In a similar way Paul uses the word in 
Romans 8sl8, "For I reckon (consider, account) that the 
sufferings of this present time are not worthy, to be 
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us # " 

THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING 

With these Scriptural citations in mind, examination 
can now be made of Romans h, which passage is often 
appealed to by Calvinists as the ground for "direct 
imputation" or the transfer idea. 

In the first place Paul raises the question, "What 
has Abraham found?" Abraham found justification, right 
standing. How. did he find it? He found it by faith in 
God. Now note exactly how thq Scripture reads, "Abraham 
believed God and it was counted (logizomai) unto him 
for righteousness" (Romans kt 3). There is no transfer 



THE PILGRIM 229 



i 



of someone else's righteousness. Rather Abrahams 
faith becomes the foundaton of the accounting. Because 
Abraham believed God, God could account, what Abraham, 
had, faith, for that which he did not have,, righteous.-* 
ness. It is something of an equations Faith equals 
righteousness. . (the fact of the matter is the word, 
LGGIZOMAI,- in non-Biblical Greek is a bookkeeping term.) 

To follow down the chapter, one. notes David *s dea- ; . 
cription, "Blessed is the man to whom the. Lord will 
not -impute (consider, account) sin" Romans h%&)'» The- 
reason being the sin has been "forgiven" and "covered." 
It should be clear, God deals with -what exists in- real- 
ity in the life of the individual. There is no trans- 
ferring from one to another. Paul then returns to 
Abraham for an example to further illustrate the truth 
by showing how Abraham 1 s faith continued to operate so 
it could be accounted, considered, reckoned righteous- 
ness. The faith he possessed was precircumcision-faith, 
a faith that reached God and repose^ on his promise, 
of which circumcisiom was the sign. 

The conclusion drawn by Paul himself is ". . . if we 
believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the 
dead j Who was delivered for our offences and was raised 
for our justification" (Romans U.:2U>.2£), it will be 
accounted to us for righteousness. Again no indication 
of transfer is present. What the believer has, faith 
in God . through Jesus Christ, is accounted,, considered, 
reckoned as righteousness. Of course,, it must be a 
working-faith such as Abraham had. 

CONCLUSION 

It is abundantly clear, then, that neither the Hebr^ 
. ew CHASHAB nor the Greek LOGIZOMAI means transfer or 
exchange from one person to another. But rather both 
.\ mean account, consider, reckon, on the basis of what 
the individual possesses. The righteousness of Christ 
becomes the believer ! s plea not by transfer but by faith. 
Atonement for the believer's sin is not accomplished by 
transfer but by sacrifice. Christ becomes a sin offer- 
ing, on the basis of which God forgives and justifies. 
There is, therefore, the continual need for faith 



230 ■ THE PILGRIM 



in the believer *s life to make justification and right* 
eousness realities. The end of this is not PASSIVITX 
but ACTIVITY. Holy living follows right standing as • 
surely as sutaner follows spring* ' -■ 

So it should be evident that the sin of the believer 
is hot transferred to Christ, 'nor ia Christ 1 ! s righteous- 
ness transferred to the believer, BUT- the believer > 
because of his faith in' the righteous sacrifice of 
Christ has his sins cleansed away (I John l:7) 9 --atidvis-- 
"w^tbout blame before hijia in love", (Ephesians 1;U)« 
" ' / '".'"■■' ,. —Adapted from Sword and Trumpet', l9£8 

; THE TRAGEDY OF AN UNWILLING SERVICE 
; '.'Moreover , brethren, I would not that ye should be 
ignorant, how that all our fathers w&re under the cloud, 
and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized 
unto. Moses in the cloud and in the sea; , And did all 
eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink of the 
same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual 
fiock that followed /fiiem: and that Rock was Christ* 

: , t But with many of them God was not well pleaded: for 
they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these 
things were our examples, to the intent that we should 
not lust after evil tfciings, as they also lusted." 
., . " I Cor. 10. 

Th?y' ; had no positive in theif lives. They were 
never willing to leave Egypt in the first place. They 
groaned uiicier the bondage j btit with Egypt they were 
satisfied. They hated the bondage but loved Egypt. 
They saw God*s miracles and were glad to have such 
power on their side, but failed to love Eim who gave 
the power. They saw the plagues on their enemies, 
and rejoice over them in their overthrow in the red Sea* 
They sang songs of * deliverance; but still their heart 
was in Egypt, not Canaaft. Only- three days later they 
murmered against Moses and Aaron. They ate manna (angers 
fopd) } ,they drank of "the Rock (Christ) but still their 
hearts were iin Egypt. - Unwilling servants they^were; .. 

SMs Is* typical of ohe who attempts to follow Christ 
without beajig converted. They want to be saved but 
still love the world*-" —From -the Editor's note book 



THE PILGRIM 231 



JUSTIFICATION 
(Condensed from the lectures of C. G* Finney, l8i$) 

(continued) 

That faith is naturally a necessary oodition of justifioation t 
we have seen* Let the following pa b sages of Scripture a,erve a a 
examples of the manner in which the* scripture speaks upon thia 
subject, 

Mark 16:15* tt Arxd he said unto them f Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature* 16* He that believeth 
and is baptized, shall be saved; but he, that believeth not, 
shall be damned*" • r. , „. .,■ - 

John 1:12* "As many as received him f to them gave he power- 
to become the son* of God, even to them that believe on his * 
name." 

John 3:16* "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life* 36. He that believeth on the Son 
hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall 
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." 

John 6:28. "Then said they unto him, feat shall we do, that 
we might work the works of God? , 29* Jesus answered and said 
unto them, This is the- work of God, that ye believe on him whom 
he hath sent* 40* this is the will of him that sent me, that 
every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may hava 
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day* 1 * 

John 8:24* "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in 
your sins. 44* Ye are of your father* the devil, and the lusts 
of your father ye will do; he was a murderer from the beginning, 
and abode not in the truth; because there is no truth in him* 
47* He that is of God, hearath God's words; ye therefore hear 
them not, because ye are not of God*" 

John 11:25* "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and 
the. life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live; 26* And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall 
never die*" 

Acts 10;43. "To him give all the prophets witness, that 
through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive re- 
mission of sins »" 

Acts 16; 31. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
be saved, and thy house* * 

Rom* 4:5* "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him 
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous*- 
ness*" 

Rom* 10:4* "For Christ is the end of the law* for righteousness 
to every one that believeth* 

Gal. 2:16. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works 
of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have bo~ 
lieved in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith 
of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of 
the law shall no flesh be justified*" 

Heh* 2:6« "Without faith it is impossible to please him; for 
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a 



232 THE PILGRIM 



rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 

I John 5;10* "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the 
witness In himself; he that believeth not. God' hath made hima 
liar, because he believeth not the reoqrd that God gave of his 
gen* 11* tod this is the record, that God hath giyen %o us 
fstetaalvliito;' and this life is in his Son* 12, -He- that hath : 
the Sjon-hfttli life;* ian& : he that hath' not the Son- of God, hath * 
not*. life#'',;13^ ; !Th^»e things- hare I written unto you that believe 
on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have 
eternal lif e, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of 
God** t. '.'{.. . . ; ,; ..■ .-:.' •.,•'• - ; :! " v .\ ; 

Present sanotifioation, in the sense of present full conse- 
cration to God, is another condition, not ground, of * Justificat- 
ion* Some theologians have made- justification a 'condition of * 
sanotifioation* instead of making sanotifioation a condition- of * 
justification* But this we shall see is an Erroneous view of 
th# subjeet* The mistake Is found in ^ misapprehension of the 
nature both of justification and of sanotifioation; - To sanctify | 
is to sot apart, to oonseorate to a particular use» To sanctify ? 
anthing to God is to set apart to his service, to oonseoxate it : 
to him*) .To sanctify ones self is to voluntarily set- ones self 
apart, to consecrate one's self to God*, Sanotifioation is an 
act uoir state of being sanctified,;- or set apart to the service of 
God* It i#r a state of oons eoratibn "to him*' fhis Is present 
obedience to: 1&e moral law* It is the whole ; of present duty, 
and Is implied in repentance, faith, regeneration, , as ^ have 
abundantly aeen* Sanotif I cation is sometimes used to express a 
permanent state x>& obediende to God, or of consecration** In - 
th^s- sense it is not a condition of present justification, or'" 
of pardon and acceptance* But it is a condition of continued 
and permanent aceeptanoe with ^God* , It certainly cannot be tir*$ 
that God accepts and justifies the sinner in his .-sins* . The v : 
Bible everywhere represents justified, persons as trai*otif£edj> r 

and always expressly, or impliedly, oonditionat pa justification * ' 
upon sanotifioation, in the Sehsis of present obedience Jto God* 
I Cor* 6:11, tt And such were some of. you* but yp are wasted, but 
ye are sanctified," but ye are justified, in the name" or the Lord 
Jesus, and : by thk Spirit of' our God*" This is but a specimau/ l 
of the manner in which justified persons are spoken of in the 
Bible*; Aifl-o/RaV&tl; *3&&r*;40 therefore now no condemnation . 
to them which are in Christ J esus, who walk. not; after the' flesh, 
but aftar :ttia - -Spirit** They only are- justified' who walk $fter 
theSpirlt* Should it be -objected, a s^ ii may be, that the -, s **' 
scripture often speaks of saints, or truly regenerate persons J 
as needing sanotificationi and of sanctificatiorias sianething 
that comes after regeneration, and as that which the saints ; are " 
to aim at attaining, I answer, that when sanctif icatitm- is thus 
spoken of , it is doubtless used in 1 the higher sense already 
noticed; to wit; to denote a state of being, sett led, established- 
xn faith, rooted and grounded- in love, being so confirmed in the 
faith and obedience of the gokpel, as to hold on in the way stead- 
fastly, unmoveably, always abounding in the work of the Lord* 
This is doubtless a condition of permanent justification, as has 



THE PILGRIM 233 



been said, but not a condition of present justification. By 
aanetifioation being a condition of justification, the follow- 
ing things are intended: 

(l.) That present, full, and entire oonseoration of heart 
and life to God and his service, is an unalterable condition 
of present pard*n pardon of past sin, and of present acceptance 
with God*. 

(2.) That the penitent soul remains justified no longer than 
this full— hearted consecration continues. If he falls from his 
first love into the spirit of s elf-pleasing, he falls again into 
bondage to sin and to the law, is condemned, and must repent 
and do his "first work," must return to Christ, and renew his 
faith and love, as condition of his salvation* This is the 
most express teaching of the Bible, as we shall fully see, 

5 9 Perseverance in faith and obedience, or in consecration 
to God, is als o an unalt erabl e o ondi ti on of* just i f i oati on, or 
of pardoit and acceptance with God» By this language in this 
•connection, you will of course understand me to mean, that per- 
severance in faith and obedience is a condition, not of present, 
but of final or ultimate acceptance and salvation. 

Those who hald that justification by imputed righteousness 
is a forensic proceeding, take a view of final or ultimata 
justification, according with their view of the nature of the 
transaction. With them, faith receives an imputed righteousness, 
and a judicial justification. The first act of faith, according 
to them, introduces the. sinner into this relation, and obtains 
for him a perpetual justification* They maintain that after the 
first act of faith it is impossible for the sinned to come into 
condemnation; that, being snoe justified, he is always there- 
after justified, whatever he may do; indeed that he is never 
justified by grace, as to- sins that are past, upon condition 
ifcat he ceases to sin; that Chrises righteousness is the ground, 
and that his own present obedience is not even a condition of 
his justification, so that, r in fact, his own present or future 
obedience to the lw of God is, in no case, and in no sense, a 
sine qua non (not v&thout which) of his justifipation, present 
or ultimate* 

Now this is certainly another gospel from the one I am in- 
culcating. It is not a difference merely upon some speculative 
tr theoretic point. It is a point fundamental to the gospel 
and to salvation, if any one can be • Let us therefore see 
which pf these is the true gospel* (Editor*s note: For the 
benefit of the readers who may think Mr. Finney difficult to 
understand, The doctrine which he is .here opposing is thsfonoe 
in grace, always in grace idea, M or the sooalled "eternal aecuxw 
ity w doctrine*) 



I object to this view of justification:— * 
1« That it is antinomianism. Observe, th 



they hold that up«a 



23U THE PILGRIM 



the first exercise of faith, the soul enters ino such a relatiin 
to Christ, that with respect to it the penalty of the divine 
law is for ever set aside, not only a$> $& Teap eqis all past, 
but also as it respects all future acta of disobedience; sc 
that sin does not thereafter bring the soul under the condemn*- ' 
ing sentence of the law of God • . But a precept without a penalty 
is no law* Therefore,* if the penalty is in their case permant— 
*ly set aside or repealed, this is, and must be, a virtual re- 
peal of the precept, for without a penalty it is only counsel, 
or advice, -an<| no law* 

2** But again: -it 1 is Impossible that this view' of justification 
should be true; for the moral law did not originate in the arbi- 
trary will of God, and he cannot (by reason of his holiness) 
abrVgfc&e it either as to its precept or its penalty* , He may 
for good and sufficient reasons dispense In certain joases with 
the execution of the penalty* But set it a&i&e in such a sense 
that sin would not incur it, or that the soul that sins, shall 
not be condemned by it, he cannot— it is naturally impassible* 
(impossible is used here in the same sense in which the apostle 
Paul says, f *in which it is impossible for &od to lie** -rJJd*) 
The law is as unalterable and unrepealable, both as to its pre- 
cept and its penalty, as the nature of God. It cannot but .be,? 
in the very nature of things, that jsin .in any being, in any 
world, and at any time, will and must Incur the penalty of the 
moral law* God may pardon as often as the soul sins, repents 
..and believes, but to prevent -real condensation where tnere is 
Sin is not optional* :-. : 

. 3*, But again; I abject to the view of justification in quest- 
ion,* that it is of course inconsistent with forgiveness or pardon* 
If justified by imputed righteousness, why pardon him whom the 
law account* as already ana perpetually, s&& perfectly righteous? 
Certainly it were absurd and impossible for the law andU the law- 
giver judicially to^ justify a person on the ground of the perfect 
obedien»e l 0f\tdt^ substitute, and at the same time pardon him who 
is thus regarded as perfectly righteous* Especially must thip 
be true of all sin committed subsequently to the first and just- 
ifying act of faith... IT when once the Soul has believed, it 
can no more ooinae into condemnation,; it certainly ^can no more be 
forgiven* Forgiveness impli^a ^previous condemnation, and ooxjr- 
sists in setin£ aside the execution of an incurred penalty* 

*•'•-•)■■'.'• . -, 
iBut this view of justificatipn, which I am opposing, is at 
war with the wfiole Bible. The Bible everywhere represents 
Christians as condemned when they sin-»- teaches theril to repent, 
confess, and pray for pardon— to betake themselves afresh to 
Christ as their only hope* The Bible, in almost every variety 
or manner, represents perseverence in faith, and obedi en oe to 
tHe^ end, as a condition of ultimate justification and final sal- 
vation. Let the following passages aerve as examples of "the 
manner in which the Bible represents this subject:— 

(continued in next issue) 



THE PILGRIM 235 



i i , m i i — ■■. - n ; « i 



^stonta! 



GOVERNMENT IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH 

CLERGY AND LAITY.. The origin of the distinction ,- 
between the clergy and the laityhas given risa to -much 
controversy* Bingham is of opinion that it was derived 
from the Jewish into the Christian Church in its ear lit- 
est days. And Clemens Alexandrinus has expressly de- 
clared, f that St. John, after his return from Patmos, . 
ordained bishops, and appointed such men for clerical 1 
ministers as were signified by the Holy Spirit. 1 If \ 
the persons here mentioned were actually set apart and 
consecrated to the ministry, the reality as well as the 
name of the distinction might with greater assurance y 
plead apostolic authority; but this does not positively 
appear. On the other hanql, the separation of the sao« 
red order is so commonly mentioned by the early Fathers, 
not by Cyprian only, but by his predecessors Tetftullian 
and Origen, and so invariably treated as a necessary- s 
part of the Christian system, that if its origin -was*- "■' 
not coeval with the foundation of the system, it was > 
at least unrecorded and immemorial. The fairest ^sup- 
position respecting this question appears to be, that 
the first converts, those who spread the earlies tidings 
of redemption before the Apostles themselves had quitted 
Judaea, were commissioned to preach the name, and dif- 
fuse the knowledge of Christ indiscriminately. But it 
seems equally certain, that this commission was of very 
short duration; and that as soon as in any place con- 
verts were found sufficient to form a society or church, 
a bishop or presbyter was ordained for life to minister 
to them. The act of ordination established the distinc- 
tion of which we are treating. 

According to the earliest form of Episcopal government 
it would appear that the bishop possessed little, if". 
any power in matters of discipline, except with the 
consent of the council of presbyters; that the council 
possessed no sort of power except in conjunction with 
him; and that, in affairs strictly spiritual, as the 



236 THE PILGRIM 



ordination of the inferior clergy and the administra- 
tion of the sacraments, especially that of baptism, 
he acted as some think with original, and certainly 
with independent authority. His office was for life, 
and the funds of the society were committed to his 
care and dispensation. Of most of the apostolical 
churches, the first bishops were appointed by the apos- 
tles; -of those not apostolical, the first presidents 
were probably the missionaries who founded them; but,- 
on their death, the choice of a successor devolved on 
the members of the society. In this election the ■ 
people had an equal share with the presbyters and in- 
ferior clergy, without exception or distinction; and 
it is clear that their right in this matter was not 
barely testimonial, but judicial and elective. This 
appointment was final, requiring no confirmation from 
the civil power or any superior prelate; and thus, in 
the management of its internal affairs, every church 
was essentially independent of every other. 

The Churches, thus constituted and regulated, formed 
a sort of federative body of independent religious eom~ 
munities, dispersed through the greater part of the 
empire, in continual communication, and in constant 
harmony with each other. It is towards middle of the 
Seconal century that the first change is perhaps percep- 
tible*, as the numbers of the belieiers and the limits 
of the f aith. were extended, some diversities in doctrine 
or discipline would naturally gorw up, which it was 
not found easy to reconcile except by some description 
of general assembly. Accordingly we find the first in«- 
stances of such assemblies (unless that which was sum- 
aoned by the Apostles may be so called) at this period. 
They were composed, either of the bishps only, or of 
these associated with a party of the priesthood; 
(Editor's Mote: The word priesthood in the sense in 
vhich it is here used cannot be found in any New Testa- 
ment description of the Church or of its offices. 
This shows that some serious innovations had crept into 
the primitive church already in the second century.) 
those ministers presented themselves as the representa- 
tives of their respective societies; nor was any supe- 



THE PILGRIM 237 



riority claimed by any of them in virtue of the supposed 
pre-eminence of particular Churches, These councils were 
called by the Greek name Synods, and seem at first to 
have been provincial, following in some manner the poli- 
tical division of the empire. They had their origin in 
Greece— the land of public assemblies and popular insti- 
tutions, of Which the memory was fondly cherished there, 
after the reality had been lost in Roman despotism. 
Their character was -essentially popular; the representa- 
tives of equal Churches, elected to their sacred offices 
by the whole body over which they presided, assembled 
to deliberate as equals; and we may reasonably indulge 
the belief, since the exertion of freedom in' any one 
direction makes it more ready to act in every other, 
that the political emancipation df mankind was promoted, 
even thus early, by the free and advancing spirit of •■. ■ 
Christianity. 

Such were the principles on which the affairs of the 
Churches were conducted for some time after the period 
mentioned by us; and none can be conceived more favor- 
able to the progress of the faith. The government of 
a single person protected each society from internal 
dissension— the electiveness of that governor rendered 
probable his merit— the meeting together of the deputies 
of the Churches, in occasiobal assemblies, on. equal 
terms, taught the scattered members of the faith that 
they were animated by one soul, and informed and digni- 
fied by one spirit. Some evil will be expected to arise 
out of much good; and evils of some importance have been 
attributed to the necessary frequency of synods. The 
first was an early addition to the orders and gradations 
of the hierarchy; for, as it was soon discovered that 
these provincial Councils. required the contm 1 of a. Pre- 
sident, the Bishop of the capital of the province was 
usually* appointed to that office, under the lofty title 
of the Metropolitan; from an occasional office he pre- 
sently assumed a permanent dignity, and his dignity was 
insufficient until it was attended by authority, Ag u ain, 
the ecclesiastics who composed them, properly appeared 
there in no other character, than as the deputies. of 
their Churches, but it may sometimes have happened, that 



238 .- THE PILGRIM 



on their return home they individually assumed some 
part of the power which they had possessed collectivelyj 
at least, it is certain that many notions respecting 
the exalted and irresistible- nature of ^episcopal author 
rity, were already floating : about the Christian world, ' 
and the Bishop was not likely to disclaimrthe hptoge ' 
which wo uld* occasionally be offered to 1 hinu But" it 
" was not until the habit of acting in bodies made them 
sensible of their" common interest and real power, that 
they ventured to assert such claims, and assumed a 
loftier manner in the government of their dioceses; so 
that, though these synods were doubtless indispensable 
to the well-being of Christianity, they seem to have 
been the means of corrupting the original humility of 
its minister; and the method which was intended to 'pro- 
mote only the eternal interests of the Church, promote^ 
in some degree, the worldly consideration of the order 
which -'.governed, it. This change began to show itself 
towards the end of the second century; arid it is cer- 
tain -that, at this period, we find the first complaints 
of The incipient corruption of the clergy, On the 
other hand, there can be little doubt that the increased 
authority and influence of the hierarchy was highly • - 
serviceable to the 'whole body in periods of danger 
and persecution, and that in those times it was gener- 
ally exerted to excite the courage, and sustain the 
constancy of the faithful. ■ • 

.-■■' •'— Haddington 1 s History of the Church 

i - - ... - ■ " 

MORE BIBLE BUT LESS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 
Dr # Will Herberg, eminent Jewish historian-philoso- 
pher, calls attention to the fact that 9,500,000 Bibles 
were sold in America in 195k, but that $3 per cent of 
the population could noi name one book of the New Test- 
ament ; when asked to do so in a 'recent survey. *■•'-'•' 
While religion hafc become very popular, we know less ; 
and less about what we pretend to believe # # . Relig- 
ion has become a kind of Idolatry, Worshiping not God 
but faith itself, " because it helps to identify us in * 
the comunity. "That sort of religion becomes a protect- 
ive wall which self throws up against the demands of God # 

— Selected. 



THE PILGRIM , 239 



I heart the sound of voices 

Around the great white throne, 
With harpers harping on their harps 

To him that sat thereom 
"Salvation, glory, honour! * 

I heard the song arise. 
As through the courts of heaven it rolled 

In wondrous harmonies* 

From every dime and kindred, 

And nations from afar* 
As serried ranks returning home 

In triumph from a -war, 
I heard the saints upraising, 

The myriad hosts among, 
In praise of him -who died and lives, 

Their one glad triumph song # 

I saw the holy city, 

The New Jerusalem, 
Come dcvm from heaven, a hride adorned 

With jewled diadem; 
The flood of crystal waters 

Flowed down the golden street; 
ind nations brought their honours there, 

And laid them at her feet* 

And there no sun was needed, 

Nor moon to shine by night, 
God's glory did enlighten all, 

The Lamb himself the light; 
And there his servants serve him, 

And, life's long battle o*er, 
Ifcthroned with him, their Saviour, King, 

They reign for evermore* 

great and glorious vision. 

.The Lamb upon his throne; 
wondrous sight for oan to seel 

The Saviour with his own: 
To drink the living waters 

And stand upon the shore, 
Where neither sorrow, sin, nor death 

Shall ever enter more* 

Lamb of God who reignestl 

Thou bright and morning Star, 
Whose glory lightens that new earth 

Which now we see from far I 
worthy Judge eternal! 

When thou dost bid us come, 
Then open wide the gates of pearl 

tod call thy servants home* 

•— Selected 



2U0 THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
-COLOSSIANS— 

This short epistle was written to the church at 
Colosse, bythe Apostle Paul, while he was in prison 
at Rome. It was between 61 and 63 "A.D. and brought to 
the Colossians church by Tychicus and Onesimus* 

In this wonderful letter, Paul expresses his love 
for these Gentile brethren and his desire to see them, 
that they might strengthen one another snd be built up 
in the faith of the gospel. The apostle admonishes 
and warns believer's in Christ to put off all manner of 
evil doings and to embrace* and practice all the attri- 
butes of love. Jesus Christ is held before us as our 
all, our life, and the head of the church* Instructions 
are given to wivep, husbands, children, masters and 
servants, oh how to conduct themselves, and live at 
peace with one another recognizing Christ as Lord and 
Master over us all« 

This epistle gives warning and instructions on how 
to live, what to fear, exortation to grow in all Chrit- 
ian graces, to be thankful ani give praise and honor 
xo God through Jesus Christ, 

-SUPPLY THE MISSING WORIjS- 

1. If ye then be with seek those things yiich 

are . 

2. Who hath us from the of and hath 

us into the J^^ of his dear # 

3. In inhom are all the of and # 

h. For in him . all the of the bodily, 

>• In we have ; ttaough his , even the 

of . ~~ ; - 

Joseph L, Cover 
Sbnora, California 



THE PILGRIM 



VOL. 6 DECEMBER, 19^9 NO, 12 

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 1 Peter 2; 1 1 



Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, 
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid I 

Star of the East, the horison adorning, 
Quid where our infant Redeemer is laid I 

Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining; 

Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall; 
Angels adore Him in slumber reclining, 

Maker and monarch and Saviour of all. 

Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion, 
Odors of Edom and offerings divine, 

Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean, 
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine? 

Vainly we offer each ample oblation, 

Vainly with gifts would His favor secure; 

Richer by far is the heart's adoration. 
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor. 

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, 
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid! 

Star of the East, the horison adorning, 
Guid where our infant Redeemer is laid. 

—Reginald Heber, 1811 



2U2 THE PILGRIM 



* THE PILGRIM it a religious magaxin* published monthly by Daniel F. Wolf iri the 
interests of the members of The Old Brethren Church. Subscription rate: $1.50 per year. 
Sample copies sent free on request. Address: THE PILGRIM, Rt. 3, Box 1378, Modesto, Calif. 



THE SEED OF ABRAHAM 

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made* 
He saith not, And to seeds as of many; but as of 
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Gal. 3s 16 • 

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the 
same' are the children of Abraham. Gal. 3* 7« 

From these -two statements in Paulas epistle to the 
Galatians, it is clearly indicated that "The seed of 
Abraham 1 * is both singular and plural in its meaning. 
In its first meaning in relation to the promise it is 
singular and points to Christ. As, "He saith not, And 
to seeds as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, 
which is Christ*" But in the plural sense it is a vast 
multitude of people who are called the children of 
Abraham by reason of their union with Christ # 

Not only were the promises made to Abraham and his 
"seed" but the "seed 11 itself was a major part of the 
PROMISE. Gen. 22: 16-18 ; 17: 2-8,16,19; 15s k,$* 

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, 
the same are the children of Abraham. " 

These passages of Scripture from the New Testament, 
with others which we intend to present in this, article, 
are far-reaching in their application, and of great 
interest to us, because if Christ was the promised 
"Seed," then all the promised inheritance must be in 
Christ. For, though there were numerous descendants 
of Abraham before Christ came, it would not be possible 
for any of them to be counted as the "promised seed" 
until the ONE came to whom the promise was made. Nor 
could any be heir to the promised blessing outside of, 
or apart from, Christ in whom the promise was made. 
Gal. 3* 16. 

This means that the Gentiles who believe in Christ 
are also counted "The seed of Abraham," and heirs of 



THE PILGRIM 2l£ 



the promise * This relationship is not by natural 
birth, but is a covenant relationship through faith 
and is therefore Spiritual, as Abraham's was to God. 
And, further, if the promised "seed" is singular until 
Christ, and the inheritance may be obtained only 
through him, then they who are. descendants of Ahraham 
by natural birth must also be united to Christ by faith 
in order to be counted as children and heirs of the 
promise* ' 

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, 
the same are the children of Abraham," 

This is no doubt the reason Jesus is called "THE 
FIRSTBORN among many brethren" in Rom, 8:29, and, "THE 
FISTBEGOTTEN" in Heb. 1:6. And is also probably the 
meaning of Jesus 1 words to Nicodemas: "Ye must be born 
again," He was probably as pure-blooded an Israelite 
as any in his time , but his relation by natural birth 
to Abraham did not give him an inheritance in the king- 
dom of God* 

God made a covenant with Israel, who were the child-, 
ren of Abraham according to the flesh, at mount Sinai, ' 
four hundred and thirty years after the promise, tfcit 
on condition of obedience to his voice they could "be 
his peculiar people and inherit the Canaan land, as lie 
promised to Abraham* (Ex. 19: f>. But they broke the 
covenant only a few days after receiving it, when they 
made a golden. calf and worshipped it. Thereby they 
forfeited any rights which they may have had to the 
inheritance and would have been destroyed, had it not 
been for the mediation and intercession of Moses. "Be- 
cause they continued not in my covenant, and I regard- 
ed them not, saith the Lord*" Heb # 8* 9« 

Thereafter they were solely dependent upon the for* 
bearance of God for continuance # God accepted Mose as 
their mediator, and at Ihe same time instructed him 
to say to them that God would raise them up a prophet • 
like himself, but with greater authority whom they 
should hear, and whoever would not hear him would be 
would be "destroyed from among his people." That is: 
They could not be counted as his people. Moses, there- 
fore, was the mediator of the law which became their 



2kk THE PILGRIM 



"schoolmaster" to bring them to Chrit, or a guardian 
to dicipline them until Christ their Redeemer would 
come. They were in the same transgression as Adam was 
in Eden, and in the same need of a Redeemer* Christ 
was the promised "seed of the woman" and "the seed of 
Abraham in whom all the nations of the earth should be 
blessed, and was therefore the promised Redeemer of 
both Jews and Gentiles. And so the apostle Peter, 
preaching to his own nation, shortly after Pentecost, 
told them that Christ was that prophet which Moses 
prophesied would comej and him they should hear. "Ye 
are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant 
which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, 
And in thy seed shall all the ^ kindreds of the earth 
be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his 
Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away. every 
one of you frpm his iniquities." Acts. 3: 22-26. 
"For there is none other name tinder heaven given among 
men, whereby we must be saved." Acts* Us 12* 

The seed of Abraham, in the plural sense, are also 
called "The children of promise" and "The children of 
Godj" because Abraham had no son, as yet, when the 
promise was made, and Isaac was a son of promise. Gen. 
X&lkiSl 17: 2-8,16,19. 

"For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel j 
Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are 
they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed 
be called. That Is, They which are the children 
of the flesh, these are not the children of God: 
but the children of the promise are counted for 
the seed." Romans 9% 6~8. 

"For It is written that Abraham had two sons, 
the one by a bondmaid, and the other by a free- 
woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born 
after the flesh j but he of the freewoman was by 
promise. Which things are an allegory: for these 
are the two covenants; the one from mount Sinai, 
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar (Hagar). 
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and 
answer eth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in 
bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which 



THE FIIGRM 2U£ 



is above is free, which is the mother of us all* 
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that 
bear est not; break forth and cry, thou that trav~ 
ailest not: for the desolate hath many more child- 
ren than she which hath an husband. Now we, breth- 
ren, as Isaac was, are the children of proulse # " 
Gal. U: 22-28, 

"Is the law then against the promises of God? 
God forbids for if there had been a ^^^^dj$ip h 
life, verily righteousness should haveoeen oy ISie 
law. But the scripture hath CONCLUDED ALL UNDER 
SIN, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ 
might be given to them that believe. . ♦ Where- 
fore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto 
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. # # 

for" ye are ail the children of god by faith in 

CHRIST JESUS. For as many as have been baptized 
into Christ have put on Christ. . ♦ And if ye be 
Christ's, THEN ARE YE ABRAHAM'S SEED, AND HEIRS 
ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE* Gal. 3: 19-29. 

"For the promise that he should be the heir of the 
world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through 
the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith 
is made void, ^nd the promise made of none effect. 
... Therefore it is of faith, that it might be 
by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to 
ALL THE SEED; not to that only which is of the law, 
but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; 
WHO IS THE FATHER OF US ALL. (As it is written, I 
have made thee a father of many nations. « Rom. Lul3-A7» 

"Wherefore then severth the law? It was added be- 
cause of transgressions, till the seed should ceme 
to whom the promise was made." Gal. 3: 19* 

"But when the fulness of time was come (the time 
for the promise to be fulfilled), God sent forth 
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to 
redeem them that were under the law, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are 

(continued on page 2£2) 



2U6 THE PILGRIM 



THE LAYING ON OF HANDS 
No. 2 
By J, I. Cover 

In the last article on the Laying on of Hands, we 
have seen the open field of the power conferred on per- 
sons to work the ways of good for the benefit, encour- 
agement, and blessing of man, fulfilling the will of 
God Individually and collectively* To counteract this 
work of grace and blessing, has been established by our 
common enemy, the work to corrupt, to harm, and cause 
suffering, by those who come under Satanic influence. 
How pitiful, terrible and horrible to behold the effects 
of the laying oh of hands in evil ways! The intent 
seems to be to attempt to force man to act, or permit 
evil to obtain in their lives and others, 

The laying on of hands for evil can be manifest In: 

1. To be engaged in lacivious, corrupt, and lustful 
ways, thereby having pleasure in unrighteousness. 

2. In all the ways of cruelty, working sorrow, suffer- 
ing, and pain upon others. 

3. In installing of men or systems, for any sinful work. 
Me note that as our words can express thoughts of good 

or evil; so can our actions likewise; and here is the 
struggle of warfare: the dece ption and tempt ation to 
do both good ana evil without "restraint , so our warfare 
comes in the choosing to follow the good as outlined in 
God's work renouncing Satan and nis sinful ways, working 
by God's help to exclude all acts of evil, any standard 
short of this falls in the evil way ! It is dangerous 
to use "the laying on of lianas " in an evil way, every 
sinful act must be repented of to be able to enter into 
the Kingdom of Heaven. Evil actions are habit forming, 
debasing, and corrupting, bearing on to darkness, despair 
and second death. 

We can choose to turn from all these corrupting ways, 
and again use our members "to righteousness unto holi- 
ness, item. 6:19. 

Choose well our way of life. 



THE PILGRIM 2li7 



The cruel hands of evilj 

The hands of hate and wrong, 
Cause suffering keen, and bloody scene, 

And life without a song. 

They laid their hands on Jesus, . 

They laid their hands on Paul; 
They waged their fight, on saints of light, 

Of Christiana great and small . 

For Satan is their captain, 

A roaring lion strong; 
With all our foes, and all our woes,. 

He labors hard and long. ■ 

They do the works of evilj " 

They labor in the night, 

They shun the day, and narrow way, .'■ .<■ * 

And work against the right. * x-; .:\ 



They joy in evil pleasure} ;; 

They laugh at good men true, 
In drunken song the whole night long, 

Corouse, and sport and spue. 

They hasten down the broadway, 
That ends in fateful doom; - ■ 

At pace so fast, arrive at last, 
To fill an empty tomb. 

turn away from evil; 

The good is offered freej 
Hands work for r^ght, walk in the light^ 

And ever happy be. 

Next: THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 

Correction % In the September— October Pilgrim, 
page 199$ verse 5, line 2, saber instead of sober » 

Sonera, Calif. 



2U8 THE PILGRIM 



JESUS WAS BOTH HUMAN AND DIVINE 
The title of this, article is a seeming paradox. How 
could it be true? How could any man be both human and 
yet divine? God is divine. We have no trouble fathom- 
ing that truth. His divinity is attested by His attri- 
butes of omniscience and omnipotence. Our Christian 
experience confirms such facts. God to us is all know- 
ing. He has searched out our secret sin. He knoweth 
our frame, He remembers that we are dust. His concern 
is for each of us. His love seeks out each individual 
upon this earth. He knoweth the sparrow's fall. Our 
God's servants prove His divinity. As God's servants 
we are also conscious of His power. The countless pray- 
ers of Christendom arise to Him and are answered at a 
seeming flick of the finger. He rules the world, king- 
doms rise and fall at His nod,, and all powers are or- 
dained of God. Yes, we can easily recognize the divinity 
of God. 

And we can well recognise ourselves as human. Our 
many errors, our everpresent frailties, are frequent 
reminders to this effect. The humiliation that comes 
when we fail in a particular phase of our Christian 
living serves as a sharp reminder of our own human weak- 
nesses. 

Yes, we can easily apply the word, "human," to our 
selves, and the word, "divine," to God, but it is diffi- 
cult for us to see these two wards being used to fully 
ciescribe a single person. Yet they do. Jesus was human. 
Ood placed Him on this earth 2,000 years ago to live a 
human life. And He did. For thirty- three years He 
maintained the characterization decreed by God. He lived 
the part. He was human, the supposed son of Joseph, the 
offspring of the Virgin Mary. And yet He was divine. He 
was God. He, Himself, said, "I and my Father are one..", 
God acknowledged that Sonship. He said upon different 
occasions, words to this effect: "This is my Son, listen 
to Him." 

Mow the writer does not intend to explain' how such a 
dual role was possible, laying before the reader a care- 
fully worded exposition of this deep truth that would 



THE PILGRIM 2h9 



simplify it in our minds forever. Norwood in his book, 
The Man Who Dared to Be God, presents the insipid ex- 
planation that Jesus developed wonderful powers and 
used them because He found God. I believe He was God. 
I do not believe He had to find God. I do not have to 
find myself. I know where I am. And neither did Christ 
have to find God, 

Miller in writing on this subject seems even weaker 
than the above. While speaking of the virgin birth of 
Christ, he backpedals furiously away from stating that 
Christ was miraculously conceived by the Holy Ghost. 
He draws with haste away from the virgin birth by say- 
ing, "It is because the evidence is not clear and 
strong that we must leave the matter in abeyance, to 
say the least." 

We would not run from this question of whether Jesus 
was truly the Son of God. We would not argue it. We 
simply believe that He was the Son of God # We believe 
that He was God incarnate. The miraculous conception 
we cannot explain in terms that will satisfy the biolo- 
gist of today, yet we believe it. Let others who class- 
ify themselves as theologians debate the fine points of 
the matter. I do not have to fully comprehend the in- 
ternal combustion engine to drive a car, and neither do 
I demand that God clarify with me all the fine points 
of His plan for my salvation before I accept it. To me 
Christ's divinity is a truism. I believe that God gave 
His only begotten Son so that I might believe. And I 
believe that Son lived on this earth for thirty-three 
years as a- human being tempted in all points as we are # 

The most interesting part of this thought area is 
not the presentation of legalistic proof that Christ 
played the dual roles of both God and man. It is most 
interesting, however, to look at the life of Christ and 
notice how these two forces, that of being divine, that 
of being human, revealed themselves in His daily living. 
It is indeed interesting to see how these two iorces 
pulled and tugged at His heartstrings. 

Christ was human. Recall the emotions He felt and 
expressed. Think, for example, of the emotion, sorroow. 
Jesus knew sorrow. He wept outside the tomb of Lazarus, 



2^0 THE PILGRIM 



Tears flowed down those sun-tanned cheeks because a man 
had died *hom He loved dearly, because a crowd stood by 

who doubted His power. 

We hear today of man's frustrations. Christ knew of 
such emotion. Over Jerusalem He cried out with soul- 
shaking feeling, n Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often 
would I have gathered thy children together, even, as a 
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
not]' 1 In Gethsemane's darkest hour He prayed for the 
cup to be removed from Him if at all possible* For Him 
to be made sin vho knew no sin, there first must come 
a great frustrating, emotional struggle within His tor- 
tured human, yet divine, sell. He saw at the climactic 
close of His earthly life the very men whom He had chos- 
en to be His intimate followers flee from Him. He heard 
them contest among themselves for power. As a human He 
certainly knew the bitterness of frustration* 

Jesus experienced anger, the souj-quivering anger 
that righteously comes when one sees that which is good 
and beautiful being blackened and shamed. And thus 
with cords fashioned by liis own human hands, He drove 
with vigor the evil from His Father 1 s house. 

The -parables and illustrations used by Jesus reveal' 
His love of nature. He considered the lilies of the 
field, the mustard tree, the pearl of great price, the . 
weather -predicting sky, the trusting sheep beneath the 
shepherd's watchful eye, the budding of the fig leaves, 
etc. He could look at a field of grain and have its 
waving beauty remind Him of the need for more disciples 
who would venture forth as human instruments of a divine 
plan to spread the Gospel of love to all areas* Ke 
viewed nature about Him through human eyes, but His 
divine connection with God never let Him lose sight of 
the spiritual 'glories He had left and was so soon to 
return to share with His Father. 

Our divine, yet human, Leader felt the joy of winning 
souls* When liatthew left his tax accounts, the fisher-? 
men their nets, and xAen Peter reconsecrated his life 
on the sand of the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Christ 

experienced the acme of joy. 

The heart of Christ was filled with compassion, deep 



THE PILGRIM 251 



and compelling, forceful, and action-provoking . His 
compassion raised the widow's son, touched blind Barti- 
maeus 1 eyes, broke the loaves and fishes for the five 
thousand, and guaranteed paradise to the thief upon the 
cross • 

The Bible is crammed with incidents and accounts 
which picture Jesus as being human, a Man of emotions 
who was stirred by His surroundings and who responded 
so well and nobly to the earthly environment that en- 
compassed Him for His brief stay in Palestine. 

But we thank God that Christ was not simply another 
great man. We would not rank Him with Hohammed, Confu- 
cius, or any other religious leader. We thank God for. 
the divine fire in Christ. No mere human could vjork the 
works of Chris i, yea, the works of God. Christ display- 
ed His divinity in His numerous miracles, His revealing 
of man's inner thoughts, His triumph over death, and by 
the very role He played in God's plan for man's redemp- 
tion. They speak so graphically of the imbued nature 
of God, This was God working through Christ His great 
redemptive work for man. The life of Christ testifies 
of God, reveals God, was God dwelling among man, the 
Word ::iade flesh. * 

Christ did not misuse His divinity as He lived so 
humanly, so humbly, fcr us. The fire was not rained 
down upon the cities of Gamariaj the legion of angels 
were not called to His rescue upon the cross. He could 
have summoned them by a single consenting thought, but 
He did not. Christ never let His divinity choose the 
easy way out of His human perplexities. It is true Mtien 
His hour was not fully come, He did escape the crowd 
who sought to stone Him, but when that hour was here, 
He accepted the cross. He refused to use His divine 
power to escape human pain, when that pain fitted into 
God's plan for man's redemption. His divinity could 
have been used to anesthetize the cross, but it was not. 
If the temptation occurred to do so, He discarded it 
quickly for the horror of three hours of human torture 
upon Golgotha's brown. The physical and mental anguish 
here displayed has never been equaled. 

Yes, Christ was also divine. With Speer we would say, 



2g2 ; THE PILGRIM '. 

"Christ was such a Man that He could not have been 
a mere man. He was a Man so great, so perfect, that 
He must have been more than just a man. . . . If our 
Lord was only a man, it is strange that the nineteenth 
century cannot produce a better one. . . .With nineteen 
hundred years of His influence upon the world, with ad- 
vantages possessed by us such as were never dreamed of 
in His day, if Christ 1 s character was purely human, it 
ought long ago to have been surpassed, and there ought 
to be in the world today many men and women who are 
superior in character to Him. " 

What statesman, or general, or author, or philosopher 
couM we name that equaled Christ? Whom should we nom- 
inate? It is folly to even think seriously upon the 
question. There is none to equal Christ. The Galilean 
has never been equaled. He never will be equaled. We 
cannot match His life, His w^rds, His works. We are 
human. He was both human and divine* 

— Gospel Herald, 195U. 

THE SEED OF ABRAHAM— (continued from page 2i£) 
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
into your hearts, crying, Abba> Father. Wherefore 
thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a 
son, then an heir of God through Christ. Gal. U:U~7» 

From th^se many passages of Scripture, it is clearly 
evident that the promised "Seed of Abraham" is not of 
national descent, but it is a Spiritual union through 
Jesus Christ by faith. It includes as many of the 
national descendants as did, and will, believe in Christ j 
for a remnant of Old Covenant Israel believed and were 
the first to enter into this promised relationship 
through Christ in whom the promise was made. But 
through this same means the Gentiles may also become the 
children of Abraham, and heirs of the same promise. 

This was the "Mystery" which the apostle Paul says 
was not made known to the sons of men in other ages, 
as it was then, in his time, "revealed unto his hbly 
apostles and prophets BY THE SPIRIT; that the GENTILES 
should be FELLOWHEIRS, and of the SAME BODY, and 



THE PILGRIM 253 



PARTAKERS OF HIS PROMISE IN CHRIST BY THE GOSPEL. Eph. 
3: 5,6. "That he might reconcile both unto God in ONE 
BODY by the cross. . • For through him we both have 
access by ONE SPIRIT unto the Father. Now therefore 
ye are no more strangers and foreigners , but FELLOW- 

\ CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, and of the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD. 
Eph. 2: 16-19. 

) "For the promise is unto you , and to your children, 

and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord 
our God shall call." Acts. 2: 39. -D.F.W. 

THE END OF THE GOSPEL AGE 

Commenting on the state of the world in the end of 
the Gospel age, H.J. Owens makes some significant state- 
ments in "The Way of Faith," After portraying vividly 
both the analogy and identity of dispensational endings, 
and confirming the same by scriptural quotations and 
references, he says: These passages, without adding 
more, plainly show that at His coming there will be 
much of wailing and mourning. But "suppose the world 
does improve in art, science, commerce, education and 
discovery; it is shortsightedness, certainly, not to 
see hoxj superficial and decietful is all this progress, 
how stimulating to human pride Greece rose to the 
pinacle of culture and philosophy* 

We drill our st\idents today on her classics as models 
of thought and expression. And yet Greece was honey- 
combed with vice and corruption, and has nearly faded 
out of national life. All this is true (also) of Rome, 
Culture and ritualism crucified Christ. The present 
gain in art, science, education and discovery, may be 
only a veneering to conceal the form and virus of the 

- anti-christ. 

i ■ This is a time of vast undertakings, colossal pro- 

jects, and mighty corporations, when trusts may defy 

J or even control the government; but that cannot be taken 
as evidence of moral and spiritual improvement of church 
and world. There seems to be a disposition to avarage 
up the good and the bad in the world by a general pro- 
cess, by which the triumphs of art and science, the 



2$k THE PILGRIM 



progress in discoveries and inventions, etc., and so 
the conclusion is drawn that the world is growing 
better. That is fallacious and deceptive. We cannot 
thus avarage together the church and world and moral 
material . 

A developement of art and science is not a growth 
of righteousness and holiness. A developement is more 
likely to be a devilment than a moral gain* Indeed 
some of the acknowledged leaders in science and philo- 
sophy are positive infidels, rejecting the Word of God; 
while others, disclaiming to be infidels, being gradu- 
ates of the German universities, they throw discredit 
on some of the fundamentals of Gospel truth. Br. Buck- 
ley said, in speaking of the Epworth League constitut- 
ion, "The young people are in danger of not attaining 
vital piety in proportion to the growth of intelligence*" 
The argument from material gain and advancement to 
piety and holiness lacks the connecting linkj and the 
facts of the case when honestly viewed, are, we think, 
proof of the opposite fact. 

Take one or two facts* 

The magnificent temple built by Herod, flashing with 
splendor, served by a gorgeous ritual, and yet the Jews 
so terribly apostatized as to reject and to crucify 
their own Messiah. 

"The world by wisdom knew not God/" nor will it ever 
know God by that means. The boasted civilization, de- 
velopement and ritualism of the present day are not 
proofs of moral developement a The chief seat of the 
trouble is not in the head, but in the heart, "which 
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." 
But we are directed to the great gains of these centur- 
ies: general refinement, the public charities, the 
wonderful means of communication, missionary triumph, 
etc. But we must remember that refinement and holiness 
are not the same thing. Art, refinement , and culture 
does not change Satan into a Saint nor lust into love. 
The world-spirit is essentialy unchanged and unchange- 
able* 

Refinement and culture does not change the carnal 
mind nor subject it to the will of God. 

Vindicator, 1912 



THE PILGRIM 355 



THE OLD GOSPEL IN NEW POWER 

It is not a new Gospel, not even new methods of 
spreading it,, that we need in order to see sinners 
saved, but the old Gospel in new power , preach by men 
"in touch" with God, through whom the life-giving stream 
can flow* There is much more ability displayed in 
preaching the Gospel, generally speaking, than in form- 
er years; a clearer and fuller Gospel than in days gone 
by, but there is no use disguising the fact that while 
the truth is more clearly spoken, there is a great lack 
of the accompanying power which makes it effectual in 
the awakening and conversion of sinners . 

We do not refer to "manifestations," sxich as were 
frequently witnessed in the Irish Revival of l859-60 # 
These, whatever their cause or effect, are not a necess- 
ary accompiment of Holy Ghost power— but a deep up- 
breaking of man*s natural pride, true conviction of sin, 
and acknowledgement of it in the presence of God. This 
humbling of all that man as man boasts of and glories ■ * 
in, by means of the Word, is brought home : in/ searching, 
living power to his conscience and his heart, leading 
the convicted yet- confiding sinner to cast himself 
wholly on the person and merits of Jesus -Christ, trust- 
ing Him as Saviour and owning Him as Lord. 

■ Genuine conversion, manifested not so much in lip 
testimonies and public declarations, or in taking a.. .... 

prominent place in wort ostensibly for the Lord; as In 
a thourough break with the world and its associations, 
a heart at rest in Christ, delighted to sit at His feet 
and : hear His Word, a desire for communion with -Him and 
His people, and godly life and walk before the world. 
These are" the marks of true conversion. . 

— "Wholesome Words", selected by Edward Royer. 

> REPENTANCE 

Sin separates from God. Repent— don't just be sorry 
you are caught. Repent— don 1 1 just try to live it down. 
Behind every sinful act there is a wrong attitude.' 
Repentance really is a joyous experience. It brings joy 
and peace, freedom from condemnation, pleasure in living 
in the way of God.— Selected 



256 THE PILQRIM 



JUSTIFICATION 
( Condensed from the lectures of C t G. Finney, 18U8) 

(Continued) 

The Bible, in almost every variety or manner , represents 
perseverance in faith, and obedience to the end, as a condition 
of ultimate justification and final salvation. Let the following 
passages serve as examples of the manner in which the Bible re- 
presents this subjects*- 

Ezek» 18:24, "But when the righteous turneth away from his 
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to 
all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? 
All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; 
in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he 
hath sinned, in them shall he die. 11 

Ezek. 33sl3. "When I shall say to the righteous, that he 
shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness,* and 
commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; 
but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for 
it," 

Iviatt, 10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for ray name's 
sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved," (Matt. 
24:13.) 

I Cor« :9:27. "But I keep under my body, and bring it into 
subjection; lest that by any means when I have preached to 
others, I myself should be a castaway," 

1 Qor, 10:12, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, 
take heed lest he fall," 

2 Cor, 6;1, "We then, as workers together with him, beseech 
you also that ye reqeive not the grace of God in vain," 

Col, 1:23. "If ye continue in the faith gro\mded and settled, 
and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, wiich ye have 
heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under 
heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister*" 

Heb. 4:1, "Let us therefore' fear, lest a promise being left 
us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come 
short of it# 11, Let us labor therefore to enter into that 
rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief," 

2 Pet, IjIO. "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give dili- 
gence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these 
things, ye shall never fall." 

Rev, 2:10, "rear none of those things which thou shalt suffer* 
Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye 
may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou 
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11. 
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches; He that overcometh, shall not be hurt of the second 
death, 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the 
hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone 
a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that re- 
oeiveth it. 26, And he that overcometh, and keepeth my words 
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; 27, 



THE PILGRIM 2^7 



And lie shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a 
potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I received of 
my Father." 

Observe, I am not here calling in question the fact, that all 
true saints do persevere in faith and obedience to the end; but 
am showing that such perseverance is a condition of salvation, 
or ultimate justification. The subject of the perseverance of 
the saints will come under consideration in its proper place* 

6, The view of justification which I am opposing is contra- 
dicted by the consciousness of the saints. I think I may safely 
affirm that the saints in all time are very conscious of con- 
demnation when they fall into sin. This sense of condemnation 
may not subject them to the same kind and degree of fear which 
they experienced before regeneration, beoause of the confidence 
they have that God will pardon their sin. Nevertheless, until 
they repent, and by a renewed act of faith lay hold on pardon 
and fresh justification, their remorse, shame, and consciousness 
of condemnation, do in fact, if I am not much deceived, greatly 
exceed, as a general thing, the remorse, shame, and sense of 
condemnation experienced by the impenitent. But if it be true, 
that the first act of faith brings the soul into a state of per- 
petual justification, so that it cannot fall into condemnation 
thereafter, do what it will, the experience of the saints contra- 
dicts facts, or, more strictly, their consciousness of condem- 
nation is a delusion. They are not in fact condemned by the 
moral law as they conceive themselves to be. 

7. If I understand the framers of the Westminster Confession 
of Faith, they regarded just if i eat ion as a state resulting from 
the relation of an adopted child of God, which state is entered 
into by faith alone, and held that justification is not condit- 
ionated upon obedience for the time being, but that a person in 
this state may, as they hold that all in this life in fact do, 
sin daily, and even continually, yet without condemnation by the 
law, their sin bringing them only under his fatherly displeasure, 
and subjecting them to the necessity of repentance, as a condi- 
tion of his fatherly favor, but not as a condition of pardon or 
of ultimate salvation* They seem to have regarded the child of 
God as no longer under moral government, in such a sense that sin 
was imputed to him, this having been imputed to Christ, and 
Christ's righteousness so literally imputed to him that, do what 
he may, after the first act of faith he is accounted and treated 
in his person as wholly righteous. If this is not antinonaanism, 
I know not what is; since they hold that all who once believe 
will certainly be saved, yet that their perseverance in holy 
obedience to the end is, in no case, a condition of final justi- 
fication, but that this is conoatiouated upon the first act of 
faith alone. They support their positions with quotations from 
scripture about as much in point as is common for them. They 
often rely on proof-texts that, in their meaning and spirit, have 
not the remotest allusion to the point in support of which they 
are quoted. I have tried to understand the subject of justifi- 



2£8 THE PILGRIM 



cation as it is taught in the Bible, -without going into labored 
speculations or to theological technicalities* If I have suc- 
ceeded in understanding it, the following is a suooinct and a 
true account of the matters ■ 

The Godhead, in the exeroise of his adorable love and compas- 
sion, sought the salvation of sinners, through and by means of 
the mediatorial death and work of Christ. This death and work 
of Christ itfere resorted to, not to create, but, as a result of, 
the merciful disposition of God and as a means of securing the 
universe against a misapprehension of the character and design 
of God in forgiving and saving sinners. To Christ, as Mediator 
between the Godhead and man, the work of justifying and saving 
sinners is committed. He is made unto sinners Nrisdem, right- 
eousness* sanctif i cat ion, and redemption." In consideration of 
Christ* s having by his death for sinners secured the subjects of 
the divine government against a misconception of bis oharaoter 
and designs, God does, upon the further conditions of a repent— 
ance and faith that imply a renunciation of their rebellion and 
a return to obedience to his laws, freely pardon past sin, and 
restore the penitent and believing sinner to favor, as if he 
had not sinned, -while he remains penitent and believing, subject 
however to condemnation and eternal death, unless he holds the 
beginning of his confidence steadfast unto the end. The doctrine 
of a literal imputation of Adam's sin to all his posterity, of 
the literal imputation of all the .sine of the elect to Christ, 
and of his suffering for them the exact amount due to the trans- 
gressors, of the literal imputation of Christ's righteousness or 
obedience to the elct, and the consequent perpetual justification 
of all that are converted from the first exeroise of faith, what- 
ever their subsequent life roay i>e*— I say I regard these dogmas 
as fabulous, and better befitting a romance than a system of 
theology. 

But it is said, that the Bible speaks of the righteousness of 
faith. "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which fol- 
lowed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, 
even the righteousness which is of faith."— Rom. 9:30» n An& 
"be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is 
of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the 
righteousness which is of God by faith."— -Phil. 3:9. These and 
similar passages are relied upon, as teaching the doctrine of 
an imputed righteousness; and suoh as these; "The Lord our 
righteousness;" "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I right- 
eousness and strength." By " the Lord our righteousness," we 
may understand, either that we are justified, that is, that our 
sins are atoned for, and that we are pardoned and accepted by, 
or on account of the Lord, that is Jesus Christ; or we may under- 
stand that the Lord makes us righteous, that is, that he is our 
sanctifioation, or working in us to will and to do of his good 
pleasure; or both, that is, he atones for our sins, brings us to 
repentance and faith, works sanctifioation or righteousness in 
us, and then pardons our past sins, and accepts us # By the 



THE PILGRIM 2$9 



righteousness of faith, or of God by faith, I understand the 
method of making sinners holy, and of securing their justifica- 
tion or acceptance by faith, as opposed to mere works of law or 
self— righteousness. Dikaiosune, rendered righteousness, may be 
with equal proprity, and often is, rendered justification* So 
undoubtedly it should be rendered in I Cor* 1;30» "But of him 
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and 
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption*" The meaning 
here doubtless is, that he is the author and finisher of that 
scheme of redemption, whereby we are justified by faith, as op- 
posed to justification by our own works* "Christ our righteous- 
ness" is Christ the author or procurer of our justification. 
But this does not imply that he procures our justification by 
imputing his obedience to us* 

The doctrine of a literal imputation of Christ's obedience or 
righteousness is supported by those who hold it, by such pass- 
ages as the. following; Rom. 4x5,8. "But to him that worketh not, 
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is 
counted for righteousness, Ihren as David also describeth the 
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness 
without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are for- 
given, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to it ora 
the Lord will not impute sin." But her^ justification i3 repre- 
sented only as consisting in forgiveness of sin, or in pardon 
and acceptance* Again, 2 Cor. 5:19, 21. "To wit, that God "was 
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 
trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of 
reconciliation. For he hath male him to be sin for us who knew 
no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
Here again the apostle is teaching only his much loved doctrine 
of justification by faith, i:i the sense that upon condition or 
in consideration of death arid mediatorial interference and work 
of Christ, penitent believers in Christ are forgiven and reward- 
ed as if they were righteous. 

(Justification Concluded next issue.) 

OBEDIENCE 

"Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to 
hearken than the fat of rams," 

Serving and giving sometimes comes easier than a 
loving obedience to Christ* We want to give our earth- 
ly things but withhold ourselves from Him. Self wants 
to be saved by giving things. It wqnts to preserve its 
own self-righteousness, power, influence, and wisdom. 
It is human and worldly to want to give everything to 
God but our own inward selves. 

Yet there is no other way than the way of loving 
obedience to the will of Christ. It is the hard way, 
and the narrow way. Only a few will find it. But on 
this way you will find the footprints of the Saviour. 

— Selected 



260 . THE PILGRIM 



DISCIPLINE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH 

Excommunication was the oldest weapon of ecclesias- 
tical authority. Doubtless, every society has the right 
to expel its unworthy members j and this right was of 
extreme use to the first Christians, as it gave them 
frequent opportunities of exhibiting to the heathen 
world the scrupulousness of their moral purity. But 
afterwards we know how dangerous and engine it became 
when wielded by weak or passionate individuals, and 
directed by caprice, or interest, or ambition. 

The question has been greatly controverted, whether 
an absolute community of property ever subsisted in the 
Church. That it did so, is a favorite opinion of some 
Roman Catholic writers, who would willingly discover, 
in the first apostolical society, the model of the 
monastic system; and the same, to its utmost extent, 
has been partly asserted, and partly insinuated by 
Gibbon. The learned argument of nosheim disposes as 
to the contrary belief; and if the words of Scripture 
in one place should seem to prove that such community 
did actually exist among the original converts in the 
Church of Jerusalem, we are obliged to infer from other 
passages, not only that it did not universally prevail 
as one law of the whole Church, but that it gained no 
favor or footing in the several Churches which were 
founded elsehwere. This inference is generally con- 
firmed by the uninspired records of Christianity; and 
it is indeed obvious that a society of both sexes, con- 
stituted on that principle, could not possibly have had 
a permanent existence. The truth appears to be this, 
that the ministers of religion, and the poorer brethren, 
were maintained by contributions perfectly voluhtary, 
and that a great and general intercourse of mutual sup- 
port and charity prevailed, as well among the various 
Churches, as among the members of each. 

It is probable that the ceremonies of religion had 
somewhat outstripped their primitive simplicity, even 



THE PILGRIM 261 



before the conclusion of the second century. Some addi- 
tions were introduced even thus early, out of a spirit 
of conciliation with the various forms of Paganism 
which were beginning gradually to melt into Christianity; 
but they were seemingly different in different countries; 
and it is not easy, or perhaps very important, to detect 
them with certainty , or to enumerate them with confid- 
ence. We shall, probably, recur to this subject at 
some future period, when we shall have stronger light 
to guide us. 

The first Christians were unanimous in setting apart 
the first day of the week, as being that on which our 
Saviour rose from the dead, for the solemn celebration 
of public worship. This pious custom was derived from 
the example of the Church of Jerusalem, on the express 
appointment of the Apostles, On these occasions, port- 
ions of Scripture were publicly read to the people from 
the earliest age. 

The two most ancient feasts of the Church were in 
honor of the resurrection of Christ, and of the descent 
of the Holy Spirit. At a period when belief must al- 
most have amounted to knowledge, the first Christians, 
the companions of the Apostles, perhaps the disciples 
of our Saviour himself, were so seriously and practi- 
cally earnest in their belief, and so satisfied of the 
generality of that belief, in the truth of those two 
mighty miracle s, which have presented, perhaps, the 
greatest difficulties to the skeptical inquirers of 
after ages, as to extablish their two first festivals 
in solemn commemoration of them. 

We find no mention of any public fast, except on the 
day of the crucifixion. The superstitious multiplica- 
tion of such acts or mistaken devotion was the work of 
a later age. 

Christian schools existed in the second century, as 
well at Rome, Ephesus, and Smyrna, as at Alexandria; 
they were conducted on the model of the schools of phi- 
losophy, and even the terms, by which the different 
classes of the faithful were designated, were borrowed 
from these latter. There appears to have been as yet 
no costume peculiar to the ministers of religion. The 



262 THE PILGRIM 



bishops usually adopted the garb of the heathen philos- 
ophers. 

QEEEDS, The first Christians used no written Creed; 
the Confession of Faith, >hich was held necessary for 
salvation, was delivered to children or converts by 
word of mouth, and entrusted to their memory. Moreover, 
in the several independent Churches, the rule of faith 
was liable to some slight changes, according to the 
opinion and discretion of the Bishop presiding in each* 
Hence it arose, that when the creeds of those numerous 
communities came at length to be written and compared 
together, they were found to contain some variations; 
this was natural and necessary; but when we add that 
those variations were for the most part merely verbal, 
and in no instance involved any question of essential 
importance, we advance a truth which will seem strange 
to those who are familiar with the angry disputations 
of later ages. But the fact is easily accounted for,— 
the earlies pastors of the Church drew their belief from 
the Scripture itself, as delivered to them by writing 
or preaching, and they were contented to express that 
belief in the language of Scripture* They were not 
curious to investigate that which is not clearly re- 
vealed, but they adhered firmly and faithfully to that 
which they knew to be true therefore their variations 
were without schism and their differences without acri- 
mony. The creed which was first adopted, and that per- 
haps in the very earliest age, by the Church of Rome, 
was that which is now called the Apostles 1 Creed, and 
it was the general opinion, from the fourth century 
downwards, that it was actually the production of those 
blessed persons assembled for that purpose; our evidence 
is not sufficient to establish that fact, and some 
writers very confidently reject it. But there is rea- 
sonable ground for our assurance that the form of faith 
**i ich we still repeat and inculcate was in use and 
honor in the very early propagation of our religion. 

— Waddington's History of the Church 



THE PILGRIM 263 



DIVINE LOVE 

Love divine, all love excelling, 

Joy of heaven, to earth come down; 
Fix in us thy humble dwelling; 

All Thy faithful mercies crown* 
Jesus, Thou art all compassion, 

Pure, unbounded love thou art; 
Visit us with Thy salvation, 

Enter every trembling heart * 

Breath, breathe Thy loving Spirit 

Into every trembling heart; 
Let us all in Thee inherit, 

Let us find the promised rest; 
Take away our power of sinning* 

Alpha and Omega be, 
End of faith, as its beginning, 

Set our hearts at liberty* 

Come, Almighty to deliver. 

Let us all Thy life receive; 
Suddenly, return, and never, 

Never more Thy temple leave. 
Then we would be always blessing;' 

Serve Thee as Thy hosts above; 
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing; 

Glory in Thy perfect love* 

Finish then, Thy new creation. 

Pure and sinless may we be; 
Let us see Thy great salvation 

Perfectly restored by Thee; 
Changed from glory into glory, 

Till in heaven we take our place: 
Till we cast our orcwns before Thee, 

Lost in wonder, love, and praise* 

—Charles Wesley, 1740 






26U THE PILGRIM 



BIBLE STUDY 
-FIRST THESSALONIANS- 

According to scholars the First Epistle of Paul the 
Apostle to the Thessalonians is the earliest of our 
New Testament writings having been written about A.D.£2# 

Acts 17 tells how Paul preached Jesus and the resur- 
rection in the syangogue at Thessalonica and in response 
to his preaching some Jews and a great multitude of 
Greeks believed but the unbelieving Jews, moved with 
envy, incited a riot and compelled Paul to leave the 
city after three sabbath days. These believers com- 
posed the church to which this letter is addressed. 

The central theme of this epistle to the young 
church is Paul's heartfelt concern for their spiritual 
welfare. In view of their persecution and the short 
time the apostle was with them it is understandable 
that he would be concerned about them. His desire was 
to visit and further establish them but Satan hindered 
him from doing this so he finally sent Timothy to see 
how they were doing. It was a great joy and comfort 
to Paul when Timothy returned with the good tidings of 
their faith and charity. 

The passage concerning the time and nature of Christ's 
return is perhaps the outstanding part of this book. 
This and the many practical exhortations apply as well 
in our day as they ±Ld noneteen hundred years ago. 

Paul commended the Thessalonians highly and says 
they were In Gou the Father and in the Lord Jesus 
Christ; they were elect of Cod; they were examples to 
and well spoken of by those abroad; they were all chil- 
dren of light and of the day; ana they were delivered 
from the wrath to come. 

—QUESTIONS- 
1. Where had Paul been before coming to Thessalonica? 
2* What x^as the shameful treatment he received there? 
3» Where vas Paul when he wrote First Thessalonians? 
U. What signs will herald our Lord's return? 

Harold Royer 
Elkhart, Indiana